


all the roads we have to walk are winding

by misstaken



Category: Final Fantasy VI
Genre: Adulting, Anal Play, Exhibitionism, F/M, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, M/M, Marriage, Masturbation, Moving On, Multi, Porn With Plot, Post-Canon, Sexual Content, Threesome, Threesome - F/M/M, World of Ruin, drinking and talking, women who know what they want
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-07-28 16:22:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 44,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7648084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misstaken/pseuds/misstaken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A heartwarming tale of growing up, moving on with life, and having a threesome with your best friends along the way.</p><p>Post-game, spoiler warnings apply.</p><p>Set after "the course not charted" but it's not a prerequisite for this to make sense.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. i guess this is growing up

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be PWP but the plot totally got the better of me :) The first chapter is reasonably fluffy and tasteful, but after this there be dragons, so exit stage left at the end of chapter 1 if adult content isn't your jam.
> 
> Alternately, if you're here for sexy times, stick with me (or just fast forward to the good stuff, I promise I won't tell)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Edgar's 30th birthday, and everyone's got a surprise at his party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's happened once again  
> I'll turn to a friend  
> Someone that understands  
> Sees through the master plan
> 
> But everybody's gone  
> And I've been here for too long  
> To face this on my own  
> Well I guess this is growing up  
> (Dammit - Blink-182)

Celes sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed in the Falcon’s small living quarters, the room too narrow for a chair ever since the twin bed had been traded out for a queen earlier that year. Her tools were laid out in front of her on the small dresser - brush, mirror, hairpins - and she vaguely recalled a moment that felt like a lifetime ago, gritting her teeth and forcing a smile as the opera house attendants covered her face in layers of stage makeup and twisted her hair into tight pin-curls. She remembered sweat collecting under her breasts, dampening the corset that pinched her waist and restricted movement and breath. In that moment she had been filled with rage, angry at Locke for volunteering her, everyone else for going along with the plan, and Setzer for being so lecherous and disrespectful that it all was even possible, but looking in the mirror at herself now, after all that had transpired since then, she thought only of how grateful she was that this engagement would be a comfortable affair in the company of friends.

The last time Celes and Setzer had visited Figaro, the preparations for the celebration were at full speed. Edgar was going at it largely alone this year - Sabin had been traveling on a martial arts sabbatical for the last eight weeks. She looked forward to their journeys to see Edgar; brothers-in-arms had turned into friendship during their fight against Kefka and they grew closer still during their days together in the World of Ruin. Since Setzer and Edgar enjoyed each other's company as much as she enjoyed theirs, visits to the castle were full of levity, relaxation, and the occasional explosion.

Edgar was the first to know that she was more than just a traveling companion to Setzer. Initially surprised that her relationship with Locke had ended, he was supportive of her decision after he had the assurance that it was an amicable split for both parties. And he didn't stop flirting with Celes, even after he knew of the intimate nature of her and Setzer’s relationship, now and then casually flirting with Setzer as well. She wasn't sure of his motives in that regard, but she didn't mind - she knew where she stood with Setzer after nearly two years together, and in the occasional dull moment, Edgar’s flirtation became fuel for her imagination. 

Celes had no complaints with her relationship, but on the days she stayed at the castle, she didn't hesitate to take advantage of the view while the two men were working in the sun. She could picture the scene from last month in her mind’s eye like it was yesterday: Edgar wore a work shirt and plain canvas pants in place of his regal garb and Setzer’s jacket was off, shirtsleeves rolled up, and silver hair piled atop his head to keep it from getting caught in moving machinery.

Setzer laid on his back, completely horizontal on the creeper, arms stretched above his head while he turned a heavy wrench to tighten bolts. The heel of his boot dragged along the floor as he moved himself back and forth, and the motion caused his shirt to occasionally pull up, revealing a strip of his bare stomach as he worked. Edgar knelt above Setzer, broad shoulders facing Celes, his shirt pulled taut across his lean back muscles. He groaned with exhaustion and mock irritation, holding the heavy flange in place while Setzer wrestled with the bolts.

 _They’re both such beautiful men,_ she thought to herself, _is it wrong of me to wonder what they'd look like together? Would Setzer kiss Edgar the same way he kisses me, or would he be more passive to Edgar’s strength? Or perhaps, despite his physical prowess, does Edgar want his partner to take control?_ She tried to picture the scene in her head, and decided that if it did ever come to pass, she would only be upset if she wasn't there to witness it play out.

 _They wouldn't leave me out if I was there too, would they? The three of us were a good team in battle, so why would other situations be different?_ The possibilities were more than she allowed herself to contemplate in that moment. If Setzer and Edgar could work so seamlessly together on something mechanical...Celes glanced at her reflection in the mirror and wondered if the warmth creeping up her neck was as visible as it felt. She breathed deeply, shifted her position slightly, and redirected her mind to a more meditative state.

She unwrapped the towel from her head and began to brush her hair, arranging it into a loose ponytail over her shoulder. Celes paused for a moment to reach for a hairpin, and looked up to see Setzer behind her in the mirror.

“You need to stop sneaking up on me like that,” she scolded. Celes hadn't heard him come in, between the white noise of engine hum and her own distracting thoughts, and she was thankful she hadn't let her mind wander any further down the rabbit hole. “You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days.”

“You need to stop daydreaming,” he returned, pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck. “I came to see if you were ready yet. I’ve started our descent on autopilot. We’ll be at Figaro Castle before you know it,” Setzer idly wound a strand of Celes’s hair around his finger. 

“Are you here to help me or distract me?” 

“Lady’s choice.”

“I just took a shower, and I'm not showing up for Edgar’s birthday with sex hair."

Setzer sighed dramatically. “I doubt he'd mind, but I suppose you have a point.” He sat down next to Celes on the edge of the bed, raking his fingers through her hair and loosening the hair tie at her throat. "I know you hate to be late for anything." His long fingers lightly brushing the sensitive junction of her neck and shoulder sent a brief chill down her spine. Both chose to ignore the tremor for the moment in favor of the task at hand. Setzer divided Celes’s hair into three sections and began to plait them into a thick blonde braid, skilled hands making short work of her waist-length locks.

“Remember when I told you was going to cut my hair off?” Celes relaxed into Setzer's touch. “I can't remember the last time you objected to anything so quickly.”

“What can I say? Some of my tastes are very traditional,” Setzer chuckled. “You'd still be beautiful, but I'd miss having this to play with.” He gave the braid a quick tug. Celes smiled and kissed Setzer’s lips quickly to thank him for his help, cupping his scarred cheek in her hand. She wrapped the braid around her head, tucking the end underneath the beginning and quickly securing it with pins to create a crown around her head. Neither this nor the brightly patterned cropped top and loose palazzo pants that she had chosen for the day were her usual practical style, but this wasn't a usual practical day. 

“If the king’s eye is half as good as mine, he’s going to wish you were his birthday present,” Setzer fingered appreciatively over the material at her shoulder, admiring the embroidery work and craftsmanship.

Celes made a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a cough, turning back towards the dresser and picking up a handful of hairpins. She inserted them along the braid to hold it in place, staring intently at her own reflection instead of her lover’s face as she worked. 

Setzer noticed the sudden change in her demeanor but chose to file it away for later exploration. Eighteen months had passed since Celes had become his traveling companion. It took some work, but he had broken through the armor that she still wore, even though her military uniform was long retired. While she was much more forthcoming with him nowadays, she would still often disappear into her own world, lost in thought.

“A Gil for your thoughts?”

“Mm…” Celes smiled, “Thinking about cutting my hair again.” She turned towards him and slipped her hands beneath his jacket, her cheek pressed to his shoulder, “We should be on our way, right?”

He knew she was sidestepping but didn't push any further - whatever she was so pensive about, good or bad, there wasn't time to deal with it now. Probably best to address it after he’d had a few drinks. They let the bedroom door slide shut as they ascended the stairs to complete their descent towards Figaro Castle.

# # #

Figaro Day, as the locals called it, had become something of a national holiday for the people of the town, and as life recovered from Kefka’s Ruin the word of the celebration had spread beyond the immediate vicinity, drawing party-goers from anywhere on the land with a way to travel to the desert. This year’s festivities seemed more raucous than the prior year, the crowds and music were livelier, and somehow seemed even more grateful to be alive.

Setzer and Celes moved through the throngs of people with relative ease, searching for their friends. Edgar would address the crowd soon and they wanted a good vantage point for his moment in the spotlight. Neither failed to notice the appreciative glances Celes was receiving.

“I'm not used to people looking at me this way,” she said a little sheepishly. It was her own choice to wear these clothes to the party, and while she didn't mind, years later it was still a bit disconcerting to walk through a crowd and attract positive attention instead of contempt. 

“No surprise, you're stunning in that ensemble. The tailors in Thamasa do excellent work,” he said with a small chuckle, “I might have to come up with some elaborate scheme to steal you away from here and make you mine.”

“Been there, done that, got the collectible plate,” Celes quipped. She pointed towards the east tower. “I think I see Terra, over there, by the...frozen drink...bar? What in the world?”

“JACKPOT!” Setzer crowed. “I knew he'd get that operational before today! We had our doubts when we fired it up the other day but Edgar swore he had a secret weapon up his sleeve.” He increased his pace, hand dropping from Celes’s back, and walked directly behind the bar where the flustered bartender couldn't contend with Setzer’s exploratory enthusiasm.

Celes took the opportunity to head in the other direction, waving at Terra who was also dressed for the occasion. Her everyday clothes were much more exotic than Celes’s so the change wasn't as pronounced, but the turquoise and purple draped fabrics bore an uncanny resemblance to Locke’s old bandanna. Celes felt a tiny momentary pang of jealousy - _she's become the woman that I couldn't be._ She shook the feeling off as quickly as it had surfaced. There was no reason to be envious of a relationship that wasn't meant for her. Terra waved back and made her way across the crowd towards Celes. 

“It's so good to see you.” Terra’s voice was full of joy. “You and Setzer don't come to Mobliz nearly enough anymore. I know there's probably a bunch of places to go that are more interesting than a farm town full of kids, but we miss you.”

Celes returned Terra’s hug, resting her head on top of her friend’s pale green hair. From this angle she could see that Terra no longer wore her signature ponytail - the longer bangs gave way to a cropped back that barely cleared her earlobes. “You cut it!” Celes said with surprise, pulling away to get a better look. “I thought you loved your long hair.”

“Well,” Terra said, “the babies are always pulling it and trying to put it in their mouths, and it was a nuisance more than anything, so I cut it off since the last time you visited.” She grinned. “I like it better this way. Much easier to manage, and Locke thinks it's cute too.” 

“Where is Locke? Is he off playing with the kids?” Celes shielded her eyes and turned towards the small colorful tents on the far side of the castle grounds, where the Moogles had a carnival type area staged for the growing population of youngsters. 

“I think he went to see Edgar before his speech,” Terra replied, “he said it was important man-to-man business.”

“I know how that goes - seems like Edgar’s the guy for such things.” Never mind that during the last trip to Figaro, Celes had been so deep in her own thoughts that whatever Edgar and Setzer had been talking about was completely lost to her. “Are the children still in Mobliz, then?” 

Terra nodded. “Katarin is seven months pregnant, for starters.”

“Those two don't waste any time, do they?” Celes grinned.

“I don't know how they find the privacy,” Terra smiled, her ears turning pink. “She and Duane felt that it was best not to travel, and while the kids do miss the festivities, Strago and Relm promised to come by soon to entertain them. The kids love Relm’s paintings and Strago’s terrible jokes.” 

Celes nodded. She had spent an evening with the old Mage and his granddaughter during a recent stop in Thamasa. Artistic talent had taken the place of the magical gifts of the villagers, and Relm was at the forefront of the burgeoning artisan's guild. "Relm is growing up so fast," she noted. "We picked these clothes out together, a friend of hers is the designer. It's amazing how fast she's gone from being a little kid to a young adult." 

"It's funny, isn't it? Good thing Edgar isn't around her much anymore, huh?" Terra giggled. She paused and glanced at the main castle tower. “You know, Locke and I don't get much time to ourselves, between the children and the animals and his treasure-hunting, so it's nice to have a few days away.”

“Then I hope you two aren't wasting time either,” Celes winked at Terra, and the blush spread down the back of Terra’s neck. “Come on, let’s go get a drink before Setzer manages to take that contraption apart - or empties it out on his own.”

The women crossed back to the bar, each taking a tall cocktail from the barkeep who seemed thrilled that Setzer had finally discovered the bottled rum and left the drink machine alone. As they walked in tandem, Celes thought about Terra’s little house on the prairie and felt a renewed sense of confidence that she had made the right decision ending her previous relationship. She couldn't picture herself living Terra’s new lifestyle and being anything resembling happy, and seeing Locke so peaceful and comfortable in that setting was the piece that completed the puzzle. 

“Celes,” Terra started, and then paused. “Can I ask you something?"

Celes took a long swallow of her drink and winced slightly, recalling how much she appreciated Shiva’s immunity to brain freeze. "Of course."

“You're not upset that we, Locke and I, that we’re…together now, are you?” Terra hesitated before glancing up at the other woman. She seemed so small in that moment, as if she had returned to the girl that Celes had met a decade ago in Vector, not the woman that Celes had come to know and respect.

“Not at all. I don't know how much he told you, but it was my decision to leave. I've moved on with my life, as should he. If you two are happy then I'm happy for you.” Celes replied, her smile as genuine as her words. 

“We are,” Terra sipped her drink. “I didn't think I'd ever understand what love was, and now I know about so many different kinds of love. I'm glad I got the chance to experience it first hand.”

“Me too,” Celes replied, thinking of herself as much as Terra in that moment. 

The sound of trumpets signaled the beginning of Edgar’s address. Celes and Terra turned their attention to the main turret of Figaro, where Edgar appeared in his royal regalia. He stepped to the window, and spread his hands wide, a broad grin lighting up his face.

“Welcome all, to Figaro Castle!”

The crowd cheered raucously. Celes clapped and whistled along with them, and wondered offhandedly where Setzer had disappeared.

“While this is the day of mine and my brother’s birth, we are here to celebrate this thriving kingdom, nay, this thriving world that continues to grow around us. This is not a land of survivors and refugees - it is a land of opportunity and promise, and with that in mind, two years after near decimation, we are stronger and more united than ever before.”

Another cheer erupted from the crowd, and Celes smelled the warm, rum-and-smoke breath on her cheek before she heard Setzer murmur in her ear, “He’s really very good at this, isn't he?”

“Definitely knows how to work a crowd.” He draped his arm over her shoulder, the silky material of his shirt a gentle caress on her bare skin. Celes reciprocated with her arm around her lover’s narrow waist, hand resting on his hip.

“On this day,” Edgar bellowed, “I implore you, citizens of Figaro, of this world, to eat, drink, and revel in the joy of family, fellowship, and the fruitful future of our great land.” He raised his glass towards the crowd. “Cheers!”

Setzer tipped his glass towards Celes, and to Terra. “To many happy returns, ladies.”

“To new horizons,” Celes tapped the edge of her glass on his, and Terra’s.

“To love and friendship,” Terra toasted, and they all took a sip of their drinks. “Let's go find Edgar. And Locke too, I'm sure he's in the castle somewhere.”

As a group they made their way to one of the side entrances of Figaro Castle. Locke was waiting inside and grinned when he saw the trio enter the castle. “Hey guys,” he greeted them. “Edgar said he’ll be down in a minute, but he wanted me to ask you guys if you'd found the drink machine, and if not, to get out there and have one-”

Celes and Terra held up their mostly-empty drinks, and Setzer his flask. “I found the rum that goes with the machine - what an invention! It would have been perfect for the Blackjack,” he lamented, “But perhaps a casino town in the desert, with frozen drinks to keep the heat off - and on - at the same time…” He stroked his chin, deep in thought. Celes recognized it immediately as his “best idea I've ever had” expression.

“It’ll never catch on,” Locke said, “Who would want to sit around in the desert and get drunk and play cards?”

“If it works on Figaro Day, why not any other day? I'm sure somewhere in the universe, there's a desert city of vice and it’s a most profitable and enjoyable venture.” 

“Hey, the gang’s all here!” Edgar entered the room, a broad grin lighting up his suntanned face. He headed straight for Celes and Terra, pressing a kiss to Terra’s hand, then sweeping Celes into a hug and kissing her cheek lightly. “You both look stunning today. Two jewels in the desert wastes, fit for a king’s celebration…”

Locke cleared his throat and Setzer turned over a playing card that he had produced from the sleeve of his coat.

“And how could I forget about these fine gentlemen!” Edgar clapped Locke on the back and threw his arm over Setzer’s shoulder. “I'm glad you could all make it. It's been a little lonely around here since Sabin took off for his training.”

Setzer crossed his arms over his chest and chuckled. “I'm just here for the frozen drinks, my friend.”

“I told you I'd get that thing working! Didn’t we bet on it? Celes, you're skipping out on this guy tonight and staying with me, right?” Edgar raised an eyebrow at Setzer.

Celes huffed in mock indignation. “I'm not a gambling prize to anyone anymore, and both you fools know it.” She knew he was just joking around, and had no intention at this point to let him believe there was any chance of that ever happening. Not without Setzer, anyway... 

Terra laughed. “It's nice to see that the years haven't changed anyone’s sense of humor. And I'm sorry that Sabin couldn't be here today either, I was hoping to see him.”

Locke took Terra’s hand and squeezed it. “We’ll come back soon enough,” he said, “Faila and Borne want to start martial arts training, so we’ll bring them here when Sabin returns.” Terra’s face lit up with a soft smile.

“What are we doing in here when we could be outside enjoying the party?!” Edgar threw his arms over Celes and Terra’s shoulders, “Come on, let’s go celebrate. You only turn 30 once, after all!”

“Where does the time go?” Locke shook his head. “Sometimes it feels like yesterday that I was just 25 and Edgar and I were working for the Returners. And now I'm next in line!”

 _He’s always so carefree,_ Celes thought. She wondered if there was ever a time in her life that she was so lighthearted and optimistic. Even when she was leading the search and rescue effort for their friends after a comatose year, she wasn't doing it out of optimism - it was from pure stubbornness, rooted in her refusal to live the rest of her days in a world where she’d rather die.

She slowed her stride slightly, allowing Edgar, Locke, and Terra to gain a few paces on her. As they crossed the courtyard, Edgar stopped to shake hands and kiss babies, and Setzer fell in step with Celes. 

“You seem far too pensive for a day of celebration, my dear,” Setzer steered them towards the refreshment area, where he ordered two more drinks. “What's going on?”

She sipped her drink and wondered if she should tell Setzer about the bizarre fantasy she just couldn't shake from her mind, and decided against it for the moment. “Just letting Edgar have some time with Locke and Terra. He doesn't see them nearly as much as he sees us.”

“Parenthood certainly cuts down on your free time,” he nodded, “but are you sure that's all?”

Celes sighed. “Sometimes I don't know how he's always so optimistic.”

“Who, Locke? Perhaps...we all view the world in our own way, love. You analyze everything with military-grade precision before you make a decision, whereas I tend to throw caution to the wind and do whatever I think will have the best payoff, no matter how dangerous. Locke, well, he's the kind of guy that goes with his gut, right? Figures that as long as he keeps trying, eventually things have gotta work out.”

“You’re probably right. I just don't understand how he can be so aloof about the passage of time, when I was in a coma for a year and Terra had almost complete amnesia for at least that long.” 

Setzer shrugged his shoulders. “You know, one thing Locke and I have in common is that - at least at this point in our lives - we live in the moment. Fuck retrospection and regret. I spent too many years of my life after Darill passed trying to figure out how to bring her back and those days always ended at the bottom of a bottle of liquor. It's why I buried the Falcon with her and swore I would never reopen that chapter of my life - and I only did because you convinced me otherwise. And I'm glad you did, because if I hadn't, you and I wouldn't be here today - none of us would - and I wouldn't have been able to finally make peace with the past and have the relationships that I do now.”

Celes nodded. He had a point. Years of military training as well as a largely solitary lifestyle had honed her analytical mind until it was razor sharp and omnipresent. Maybe Setzer had a point. Sometimes the best path wasn't to consider every possible positive and negative outcome before making a decision. 

“Seize the day, is that it?” 

“Works for me, and looks like it's worked for Locke too,” Setzer cocked his head towards the center of the courtyard, where couples were dancing to the musicians that had started playing after Edgar’s address. Locke was spinning Terra in circles, her dress twirling in a blue and purple cyclone around her legs. “Want to join them?”

Celes shook her head, noticing that she was a little less sober than she had expected to be. “Maybe later.” She smiled serenely and finished the last of her beverage. It occurred to her that she hadn't eaten since breakfast, and she was starting to feel more than pleasantly warm and floaty. 

Setzer swallowed a long draw of his drink and grimaced slightly, offering the glass to Celes. “Too sweet for me. Never been the fruity drink type.”

She held her hand out to decline. “I've got to get something in my mouth before I drink any more,” she said, and realized too late that the words she said weren't exactly the words she meant.

Of course Setzer didn't miss a beat. “I'd be happy to oblige - especially considering how gorgeous you look today - but in front of all these people? I didn't expect that’s how you wanted to seize the day.” The corner of his mouth turned up in a wicked, teasing way. He always knew when she had a good hand - the question was how to get her to reveal it.

“That's not what I meant and you know it,” Celes crossed her arms over her chest. “There are kids and people we know here.”

“But you're saying...in a crowd...of perfect strangers…” Setzer continued to tease her, reveling in her response. He loved how she responded to his taunts, and knew from experience this was the way to draw her out - to challenge her, push her to the limit of her comfort zone, trying to find the line without crossing it. “Be honest with me, love. What’s been eating at you?”

Celes took her lover by the arm. “The only eating I'm gonna discuss with you right now is food.” She began leading him across the courtyard, past the dancers, and directly off that topic of conversation. Setzer sighed, mildly frustrated by her stubbornness, but it was nothing new. It merely sharpened his gambler’s resolve to figure out the trumps she wasn't showing.

# # #

Food gave way to drink, drink gave way to dancing, dancing led to more food and drink and as the moons rose in the sky, another Figaro Day drew to a close. Celes and Setzer stayed with the group for the entire time, though the group was much smaller than it had been last year. Well-wishes had been sent from Relm, Strago, and Cyan but none of them had been able to attend.

Setzer, Edgar, and Celes sat around a table beneath one of the towering palms that were scattered around the outskirts of the castle grounds. The desert night chill had come and Celes was once again buried in Setzer’s jacket, the brightly patterned legs of her pants contrasting sharply with the monochrome overcoat. She had traded liquor for water at least a half hour ago, but the pleasant lightheadedness hadn't subsided. Edgar’s sleeves were rolled up and a few strands of his hair had come loose from his braid. She had the urge to reach over and tuck them back in, to see if his hair was as soft and well cared for as a king’s should be. Celes thought about how Setzer liked to play with her hair - would he do the same with Edgar, who albeit male, had hair nearly as long as hers? She breathed her lover’s familiar scent from the cocoon of his coat and wondered how his blend of fragrances had become so familiar that she craved the variety of a third. A pang of guilt overcame her and she pushed the idea away for the umpteenth time that day, resolving to either forget about it once and for all or come out with it to Setzer as soon as possible.

Setzer lit a cigarette, the burning tip glowing in the night sky. Edgar set his drink down and motioned at Setzer, who reached into his pocket and passed another across the table. Setzer struck a match and Edgar leaned in for a light, smoke curling into the air as he drew in a deep breath.

“Since when do you smoke?” Celes raised an eyebrow.

“Only when I drink with this bastard,” Edgar chuckled. “We’re old guys now, you know. He's even older than I am.”

Setzer made a cheerful rude gesture in Edgar’s direction. “I give you my second to last cigarette, I even light it for you, and this is how you repay me? By holding a matter of months over my head?”

She shook her head. “Come on, you two...you're only as old as you act.”

“Hmm…” Edgar mused, holding his glass in front of his lips to hide his smile. “I knew you reminded me of my grandmother for some reason, but I couldn't put my finger on it…”

“You rat bastard,” Celes leaned over and slapped Edgar on the arm, “You wouldn't make so many passes at me if that were the case.”

“Maybe that's what Edgar’s into,” Setzer grinned over his glass of whiskey. “I’ve always heard that royals do some kinky shit. Tell me the rumors are at least slightly true.”

Edgar took a drag on his cigarette, swallowing a cough. “Kings don't discuss such personal matters. That's for gamblers and drama queens.” His blue eyes glittered mischievously in the moonlight.

“Everyone’s got something...is it handcuffs? Role play? Threesomes?”

Celes felt the familiar heat crawling back up her neck, and this time creeping lower as well. Threesomes had never come up in casual conversation like this. It was probably bad form to proposition one’s significant other for such things in front of the potential third party, so she took a long drink of water and watched Edgar purse his lips around the rolled cigarette, close his eyes, and take a long drag. She shifted in her seat, pushing down further into the chair, the pressure doing little to stub out the hot desire coursing through her.

As if on cue, Terra and Locke returned to the group, taking the pressure off Edgar and providing a welcome distraction for Celes. 

Edgar ground out his cigarette in the sand and cleared his throat. “Welcome back - where have you two been? I haven't seen Terra glowing this brightly since she was an Esper.”

Locke shot Edgar a look. “Ah, you know...there was something we had to talk about, just me and Terra, but you know, we don't get a lot of alone time back home.”

“Talk, eh?” Setzer swirled the liquor in his glass. 

Celes noticed Terra turning something on her finger and broke into a wide grin. “Let's see that hand of yours,” she said, reaching for Terra’s left hand, which now sported a delicate gold band with a brilliant pale pink diamond. Terra said nothing, her beaming face speaking volumes. 

“Congratulations!” Celes stood, enveloping Terra in a hug. Setzer's jacket was almost big enough to fit around them both. Turning to Locke, she extended her hand, and when he took it her she couldn't stop herself from hugging him as well. Her heart swelled when she felt his arms close warmly around her. They hadn’t hugged since the day that Celes left Locke’s house in Kohlingen for the last time with tears in her eyes, her belongings in a single bag that obstructed their last awkward embrace. 

She met Locke’s eyes - no tears this time - and smiled. “I'm really happy for you. Both of you.”

“Thanks,” he grinned back at her. “That means a lot to me. Seriously. Terra too,” he added quickly. “I wanted to tell you in person.” 

“We both did,” Terra chimed in, taking her fiance's hand.

“I can't wait to meet your beautiful babies,” Celes replied, and Locke scratched the back of his neck with his free hand in that telltale way of his, embarrassment and joy embodied in a single gesture. 

“Gotta get married first,” he laughed sheepishly, “but yeah, definitely. I'm excited.” That much was clear - nothing could wipe the smiles off their faces tonight.

From seemingly nowhere, Edgar produced a bottle of wine and a stack of cups. “I think this deserves a toast,” he said, “and I'm glad you finally got around to asking, it's been a pain in the ass carrying this around all day!” He clapped Locke on the shoulder, Setzer taking the bottle and pouring for everyone with practiced finesse. They toasted to Terra and Locke, then to Edgar’s birthday, to Sabin and all others in absentia, and to anyone and anything else they could think of until the bottle was empty, the cleanup crew appeared in the wings, and everyone went their separate ways for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sat down to write a Celes/Setzer/Edgar PWP that I've been kicking around in my head for a while now, and 5000 words later, this is what I had to show for myself D:
> 
> Also, if Edgar had the means to build a chainsaw, crossbow, and a flashbulb (amongst other things) I don't see why he couldn't also have a Margarita Man. XD


	2. honey i ain't naive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honesty is generally the best policy.  
> Celes/Setzer, explicit content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've seen everything imaginable  
> Pass before these eyes  
> I've had everything that's tangible  
> Honey you'd be surprised  
> I'm a sexual innuendo  
> In this burned out paradise  
> If you turn me on to anything  
> You better turn me on tonight  
> (Guns 'N' Roses - Rocket Queen)

Setzer and Celes returned to the Falcon that evening, since Terra and Locke were staying in the guest quarters before their journey back to Mobliz the next morning. Celes paused halfway between the ship’s command center and the ladder to the living quarters. “Are we heading out tonight?”

“I'd rather not. That was quite the vintage bottle that we finished, and I'd like to enjoy what's still in my blood - amongst other things,” his voice lowering as he finished the sentence. “That bare midriff of yours has been taunting me all day - like the opening notes of a song I can't wait to hear.”

“Hm…” she put on her most serious face, “what if I wasn't in the mood for a duet tonight?”

“Well, I'd never ask that you do anything you didn't want to, of course, but don't think I didn't notice the way you were shifting in your seat before Terra and Locke came back,” Setzer said over his shoulder, setting the Falcon’s security kill-switches for the night as he talked. “I'd be disappointed in my observational skill if you really weren't up for something.”

She leaned against the railing of the airship, the desert breeze gently fluttering the edges of Setzer’s jacket. He approached her in a few quick strides, his hands slipping within the lapels, cool fingers on her belly eliciting a shiver. “What have you been daydreaming of lately, Celes? And don't tell me short hair again, because I know that's a lie.” 

Setzer's lips brushed against hers, a light, feathery touch on her mouth, the tip of her nose, and along her forehead, leaving a trail of kisses in their wake. He followed her hairline to the shell of her ear, leaving a kiss behind it, and as he made his way down her neck, his fingers kept tempo up her spine. 

Celes trembled, his touch bringing on gooseflesh, and she could feel her skin prickle with anticipation as Setzer ran his fingertips along the edge of her top, dipping underneath the hem of the fabric.

“I'll make you sing,” he said, “but until we talk, we won't go past the prelude.”

“You know I hate singing…” she breathed, the scent, sound, and feel of Setzer flooding her senses. 

“Oh, I know,” he chuckled, “but your screams are like music.” He pressed his leg between hers, using his strength to hold her against the railing. The rocking movements he made along with the pressure he exerted against her intensified the heat between her legs until she squirmed against him, a breathy yelp escaping her lips. 

She closed her eyes and ground her hips against his thigh, tipping her head backwards. In her mind’s eye, the railing of the Falcon wasn't supporting her - it was Edgar’s solid, warm body, and he wasn't an idle participant. She thought of Edgar’s hands on her breasts while Setzer teased her; then she thought of kissing Edgar over Setzer’s shoulder while he stood behind Setzer, his hands tweaking the other man’s nipples instead, and the image became a surge of fire straight to her belly.

“Ah,” she sighed, “just like that...”

In response to this, Setzer took a half step back, temporarily releasing her from his hold. “Talk. You and me. Now. Here or inside?”

“You stopped,” Her raw nerves screamed for his touch. Damn him, this was his plan all along. She licked her dry lips and shrugged out of his coat, the night air on her skin a somewhat sobering sensation.

Setzer took his coat from Celes and slung it over his arm. “Believe me, I don't really want to stop either, but I keep my promises.” 

Celes nodded and swallowed. Why was this so hard to approach with him when she couldn't stop thinking about it?

“Is this about Locke and Terra’s engagement?”

She shook her head vigorously. “I swear, it’s got nothing to do with Locke, or their engagement.” Celes looked at Setzer, then at her hands, then up at the stars, and finally back at him. “Setzer, remember when you told me...that if there was something I wanted to just ask for it?”

He nodded, “Certainly.” She could see the wheels spinning in his head. “Tell me what you want, Celes.”

“Not what…” Her voice was almost a whisper at this point, “it's who.” 

Setzer tried to gauge the meaning of Celes's words from her facial expressions, which were so guilt-stricken that he immediately assumed the worst. Setzer remained calm but his emotional wheels were spinning at full speed. “shit,” he finally muttered, trying as hard as he could to maintain composure, “are you…” Frustrated, he pushed his hand into his hair and sighed, unwilling to speak the remainder of his thoughts.

Celes saw the deep creases in his brow and confusion in his eyes, and waved her hands desperately. “No, no, that's not what I meant,” she said, bringing one hand to his cheek and crushing her lips against his. _Dammit, I completely blew it. This is not how I wanted this to turn out._

Setzer took another two steps back. “Then what are you trying to tell me, Celes? Because this is not going anywhere close to the way I expected it to.”

“I know, this was so much easier in my head,” she sighed. “I was thinking...if you were willing, of course...that maybe it would be interesting to have...another person with us...from time to time. A friend. That we’re both attracted to. For...variety, and for fun.” She felt like the worst girlfriend in the world at the moment, but had to finish what she'd started, regardless of the result.

His face went blank for a moment as he processed what she had just proposed. “Oh shit,” he shook his head, a rueful laugh escaping him, “I can't believe it.” She was no longer the girl he'd mistaken for Maria, that was certain. 

Celes’s heart sank. “It's not - if you don't want to - it's fine - ” 

Setzer dropped his head into a full facepalm. “No, I can't believe I didn't pick up on this sooner." He cupped her chin in his hand and met her eyes, violet to blue. "I’ve noticed the way you’ve been watching Edgar and I while we're working, and how you were fixating on him today - especially after I gave him that cigarette. You were following him with your eyes the way that you used to do to me, back when you didn't think I was paying attention.” He dropped his coat over the wooden surround encircling the Falcon’s navigation area and leaned back against the steering column. “I have to say, this is somewhat unexpected.”

She glanced tentatively at Setzer. “So you're not mad.”

“Darling, I'm surprised, amazed, and right now, I want to finish this conversation and then fuck you until we both pass out. Mad’s not even part of the equation.” He took her hand and pulled her close, using the Falcon as his back support this time. He kissed her lips, tongue gently stroking her mouth open and claiming it for his own. “How did you conclude that I was attracted to Edgar as well?” he asked when they both finally came up for air.

“He flirts with you, and you never object,” Celes replied, her wandering hands settling on the small of his back and tracing the familiar lines of his scars. “I wonder if you’d flirt back if you didn't know I could hear. Sometimes I see you watching him too, like I do.” She leaned her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “Guess we’re both busted.” 

Setzer’s fingers drew lazy patterns along her back, weaving between flesh and fabric. “Considering he and I have some history, I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm busted.” This was the second conversation he didn't expect to have with Celes today. He felt her head lift from his shoulder and he looked down to gauge her reaction. 

Celes was equal parts shocked and intrigued. “I see. Why didn't you say something?” she asked.

“You and I agreed that we didn't need to provide details of our past partners to each other,” he reminded her, “I wouldn't have denied it if you had asked, and he knows I wouldn't hide it from you - but what I may have done with Edgar never came up prior to today. And as he said earlier, as a king, he tries to maintain a level of discretion in his affairs.”

“By flirting with every female in his path?”

“Big difference between words and action,” Setzer rationalized. “I wouldn't know what he has to deal with in terms of discretion, the wealthy in Jidoor were basically a soap opera. We used to say that what happened on the Blackjack stayed on the Blackjack, but nobody ever actually obeyed that rule.”

Celes realized that any remaining effects from the liquor were gone, and she was perversely happy that that she was having this conversation with all of her wits about her. “So...you and he have been...intimate,” she started.

“I wouldn't call a few mutual orgasms after a couple of drinks particularly intimate, but if that's how you want to look at it, my dear, then yes, we have.” 

Celes refused to visualize, no matter how tempting. She needed to maintain focus and finish this discussion, because contemplating sex with Edgar wasn't dampening her need for Setzer. “Is he attracted to women at all, or does he flirt with women just because he’s expected to be with women?”

“Edgar is very much attracted to women,” Setzer said. “He generally prefers women, as far as he tells me, but we both have great respect for beauty that isn't dependent on one particular set of genitals.” His hands continued their lazy trail over her body as they talked, down the curve of her hips and settling at the base of her spine. 

“How about you?” 

“Oh, you know, isn't the saying ‘gentlemen prefer blondes’?” He grinned. "Beautiful, long blonde hair...makes me do crazy things."

“You're no gentleman, Setzer Gabbiani.” Celes slapped him lightly on the ass. 

“Well, how about this: I like blondes, but I prefer you.” He lifted her chin and kissed her firmly, again coaxing her mouth open and teasing his tongue against hers. “You're no lady either, Celes Chere. A proper lady would never ask her lover for a threesome.” His tone was mock-scolding and full of desire.

“You prefer that I'm not a lady,” she murmured against his lips, her breath hot on his face. Celes pulled her body flush against his, feeling his hard cock pressing against her belly. She kissed him again with fire in her eyes, worrying his lip between her teeth until he groaned, freeing her hands and dropping his to her waist.

“I'd prefer that we finish what we started,” he returned, releasing the fastenings on her loose pants. The garment pooled at her feet, and Setzer ran his fingers along the edge of her panties, stroking against her wet swollen heat, still covered by a thin veil of fabric. “I want to take you out here,” he said, “on the deck, under the stars.” One of fingers pressed against her clit through her panties and she shuddered against him. 

“Won't someone see us…?” Celes was ready to throw caution to the wind at that particular moment but still had her self-preservation instinct intact. Setzer pressed his thumb in another slow circle between her legs, appreciating how ready she already was, his other hand working the laces on the back of her top.

“It's too dark, and we’re so far out, you would have to be using binoculars to see anything from the castle,” Setzer loosened the last of the ties of her half-shirt, allowing himself access to her breasts. 

Celes had one arm thrown around Setzer’s neck and the other underneath his shirt, fingernails digging into his back. The raised lines of the tattoo along his spine always felt like a treasure map under her fingers. He sighed into her hair at her touch and thumbed one nipple, then the other. The sensation shot straight south and her knees felt like they could give out at any moment. “Really..." she swallowed, “in that case…”

Setzer grasped the supple mound of her breast, and he slowly kneaded it in his palm with the same pace that his fingers traveled back and forth along her slit when he felt her tense with anticipation. “Unless...you want him to see us, don't you? Thinking about Edgar watching me bring you to the edge like this…” He rolled her nipple in between his thumb and forefinger and Celes groaned into his shoulder. “God, you're exquisite.” 

Celes dropped her free hand from Setzer’s back and palmed the thick bulge in the front of Setzer’s pants. “I need you,” she said, lifting her head from his chest to look at him, his pupils blown as wide as hers surely were. 

“Ladies first,” Setzer reached for her hair to grab hold, and remembered she still had it pinned up in a braid. He cradled the back of her head instead. “Come for me,” he pushed her panties to her knees and increased the pace and pressure on her clit while sliding two fingers inside her. He searched for the perfect spot, his thumb pulling and pressing faster. She whined and gasped in response and clung tighter around his neck, his fingers bringing her right to the edge. “Come for him, he’s watching you too. Show Edgar how beautiful you are when you let yourself go.” 

The thought of being watched had never turned her on in the past, but she imagined Edgar’s eyes on them, stroking his dick as Setzer took her apart with his skilled hands and words, and the rush was like lava flowing in her veins. Setzer gave her nipple another firm pinch and that was it, Celes screamed into his shoulder, clutching at his shirt collar as her knees gave out underneath her. He held onto her back as she rode his hand through her orgasm, and when she finished, kissed her forehead and held her upright until she caught her breath.

“Oh my god,” Celes gasped. 

“You're not kidding,” Setzer grinned into the top of her head. “Thought you were gonna break my neck for a minute there.”

Celes wasted no time in opening the buttons on Setzer’s shirt, her hands coaxing his flat nipples into peaks. She'd been surprised when she discovered that he'd had them pierced years ago, but had quickly learned the right way to use the addition to maximize sensation. 

Setzer drew a breath through his clenched teeth and began working at his own belt buckle. “That feels incredible, darling, but I want to be inside you,” He dropped his pants to his ankles and turned Celes around to face the steering wheel, hands positioning her hips in place. 

From this vantage point, they could see that some the small arched windows of Figaro Castle still had lights on. “You think he's watching?” Setzer aligned his hips with Celes’s and nudged his cock against her ass. “Seeing me take you from behind?”

Celes pushed back against Setzer, thrumming with need. “I think he is. He can see everything...he can see how you make me feel.” 

She clenched her teeth and groaned deep in her throat when Setzer finally pushed his cock inside of her. She preferred to be able to see him, but she couldn't deny how deeply she could feel him from this angle. He started to move inside of her, building momentum and rhythm.

Clearly Setzer was getting off on the fantasy as much or more than she was, and in between breaths and moans, she continued the scene, drawing on her earlier thoughts. “He's got his dick in his hand...he can't stop staring…” Celes dropped her hand down between her thighs, circling and stroking her already sensitive clit as Setzer drove into her, bracing himself against her hips, pulling almost all the way out before plunging back inside.

“Do you like it?” Words, normally his specialty, weren't coming to him quickly, but he had to keep her talking. He doubted he would last much longer; she felt like a wet dream and sounded even better.

“Yes,” she hissed, “I want him...with me...and with you too...not just watching…” Celes could feel another orgasm building, and she put all her weight against the navigation console, losing herself in the sensation. “Setzer, please...I'm gonna come…” She cried out into the night sky, not particularly caring if anyone heard her in the moment, and Setzer followed the waves of her orgasm to his own climax soon after. 

“Oh my god,” he echoed her sentiment, still breathing hard. “You were amazing. I love it when you get so turned on that you stop holding back." He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Did you have fun?”

“Uh huh,” she nodded, her cheeks flushed and her hair discheveled. “That was awesome.” She wrapped her arms around Setzer’s neck and kissed him. “It's really cold out here when you're naked,” she observed with a sheepish laugh.

“Go on inside, then. I'm gonna have a smoke and then I'll come to bed. You don't have to wait out here for me.” Setzer pulled his pants up from around his ankles and fished out his last slightly crushed cigarette, lighting it and listening to the paper and leaves crackle in the silence. The moons were twin slivers in the sky. It had to be almost midnight. 

Celes nodded, sliding back into her pants and gathering the rest of her clothes from the floor. “Hey, Setzer? Are you seriously interested in what we talked about? If Edgar is up for it, of course.”

Setzer exhaled a stream of smoke through his teeth. “I'll figure out a way to bring it up with him tomorrow. Are you okay with that?” 

“You don't have to - I can talk to him,” Celes offered, not wanting to make Setzer do her work for her.

He thought of their conversation before, and as much as he trusted Celes, Setzer figured that if there was any chance of Edgar agreeing to a _ménage a trois_ , the initial proposal would need to come from him. “Edgar and I go back, like I told you. Let me ask him, I promise either way I'll let you know what he says.”

“Thank you,” Celes said earnestly, kissing Setzer again before heading towards the living quarters, yawning as she descended the ladder from the deck.

Setzer turned back towards the castle, filling his lungs with smoke. Another desert breeze rippled his unbuttoned shirt against his bare chest and he fought off a chill. As he took the last drag on his cigarette, he watched the light blink off in the last window, leaving nothing but the starlight. “Old man,” he said to no one in particular. “Not as long as you're with me, that's for damn sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> G'n'R is one of my guilty pleasures and Rocket Queen is one of my favorite songs off Appetite for Destruction. I heard it in the midst of this chapter and it kind of became the theme music. 
> 
> Edgar gets tangibly involved next chapter. Promise.


	3. maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's talk about sex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And all the roads that lead you there were winding  
> And all the lights that light the way are blinding  
> There are many things that I would like to say to you  
> But I don't know how
> 
> Oasis - "Wonderwall"

Celes was already asleep by the time Setzer had finished his cigarette and closed up the Falcon for the night, but he still woke before her the next morning. He gently moved her head from his shoulder and waited to see her snuggle back down into her pillow before pulling on a loose pair of pants and quietly leaving the bedroom.

While Darill had installed a variety of basic life support essentials on the Falcon, they didn't normally live full-time on the Falcon unless they were on an extended journey; Setzer had collected on a high-stakes bet that he'd made before the World of Ruin and secured a small apartment in Jidoor. Therefore, it was strangely quiet aboard the airship without the engines running. Darill’s autopilot function was truly a stroke of genius, and while he wasn't a spiritual person at all, he found comfort in the idea that the autopilot was Darill’s way of staying by his side as copilot, even without physically being present. He cared for her memory during his waking hours, and she watched over him and Celes while they slept. 

Setzer gathered his pouch of tobacco and rolling papers, set them on the table, and started a pot of coffee in the percolator. The richness of the coffee blended with the tobacco, filling the workroom with its aroma. He poured himself a cup of coffee, tied his hair up on top of his head, and set to work rolling a fresh batch of cigarettes. When it was the two of them alone, Edgar normally supplied the booze and Setzer the smokes, but it had been a while since the two of them had a guys’ night to themselves.

An equal amount of time had passed since Setzer had thought of his relationships during the period between Darill and Celes. Celes had made it clear that she didn't want to discuss the intimate details of her relationship with Locke, and he was happy to oblige as he wasn't initially sure how open she was to less conventional sexuality and Setzer didn't want to scare her off. She had pleasantly surprised him in that regard, although he did wish that she would someday come to appreciate lingerie the way that he did. That was the one thing he truly missed about Maria - enjoying her taste through a layer of silk before dragging it off of her body with his teeth. 

In hindsight he was glad his plan to kidnap and marry Maria was so thoroughly foiled. Aside from the fact that it led to his current state of affairs, he was fairly sure that once they reached the inevitable point in which they weren't fucking three times a day and actually had to get to know each other, she would have driven him crazy.

He took a sip of his coffee, moistened the edge of the rolling paper with the tip of his tongue, and smoothed it in place. Rolling cigarettes was a meditative activity for him. Like most other things worth doing in life, cigarettes were always better when made by one’s own hand. 

Edgar never bought cigarettes, or accepted Setzer’s offer to teach him to make his own. He thought about the first time he smoked with Edgar, the two men sharing Setzer’s last cigarette to replace the taste of each other’s orgasm in their mouths. They were going to take on Kefka’s tower the next morning, and everyone else had disappeared either alone or in pairs. Edgar and Setzer had split a bottle of whiskey older than both of them under the guise of stress relief and the reality that neither man was sure they would live beyond the next day. The same rationalization applied when Edgar offered to suck Setzer’s dick, and Setzer gladly returned the favor. 

Setzer shook his head and sipped his coffee. They didn't even have toothbrushes back then. He remembered how much Edgar coughed while he smoked that night. That might have been the man’s first cigarette - but it certainly didn't seem to be his first blowjob. This probably should have surprised Setzer more than it did, considering Edgar’s flirtatiousness with women, but Setzer knew that everyone had at least one vice they wouldn't freely admit. He placed the cigarettes in a small metal tin that Celes had bought for him and refilled his cup of coffee.

When the world didn't end after all and Setzer had started spending time with Edgar more regularly, that night came up in conversation fairly quickly. One thing led to another and Setzer was offering Edgar another post-orgasm cigarette - there was one for each of them this time. It never became routine, but in the months that followed, Setzer found that Edgar was a much more attractive choice for a friend with benefits than any random drunken hookup, and Edgar never refused an opportunity after an afternoon in the workshop to have a different kind of fun with Setzer.

Now that he was with Celes, the only tools of Edgar’s that he touched were the ones used to work on ships. He had no idea prior to last night that Celes was interested in anything besides monogamy. Darill did always teasingly say that he brought out the devil in people. While Setzer couldn't deny that he had considered the possibility of enjoying both of his best friends at the same time, the fact that it had a chance of becoming a reality was an unexpected turn of events. 

He heard movement in the rear of the living quarters and started a fresh pot of coffee. Celes padded barefoot out of the bedroom a few minutes later, wearing Setzer’s shirt from the night before. He glanced appreciatively over her body, the drape of the fabric outlining her breasts, golden braid slung over her shoulder, the white silk only a few shades lighter than her thighs. 

“Morning,” he drawled. “You know how I feel about you wearing my clothes.”

“I look better in them than you do,” Celes smiled, “you tell me every time. And good morning to you too.”

“It never stops being true.” He leaned in to kiss her, and she kissed him chastely on the cheek. 

“My breath is probably awful, I've barely been awake for 10 minutes,” Celes covered her mouth as she yawned over her shoulder and stretched her arms over her head. “What are you doing up so early?” She took her mug down from the shelf and poured herself a cup of coffee, breathing in the strong aroma from the percolator. Celes always thought she hated coffee based on the instant packets that they'd been served in the military, but Setzer’s fresh brewed coffee was something she looked forward to every morning.

“Couldn't sleep any longer. Figured I'd make a few cigarettes before we headed out. I told Locke last night that we would give him and Terra a lift back to Mobliz.”

Celes nodded. “Makes sense.” Two sips of coffee had her feeling more human already. She sat down next to him and crossed her legs underneath the table. “Do you want me to stay here when you talk to Edgar?” 

“Up to you,” he replied. “I'm not sure how he'll respond, but if you want to hang out with Terra and Locke for a bit it'll at least ensure that he and I are uninterrupted.”

“What are you going to say? Do you have a strategy?” Despite her proven talents as a negotiator, she had no idea how she would even approach the topic, and she figured Setzer had gleaned that much from their own conversation.

Setzer shook his head. “Not the slightest. Seize the day, right? I'm much better when I'm unrehearsed.” He kissed her lips gently before standing from his chair and she wrinkled her nose. “You taste like coffee,” he assured her, “same as me. I'm going to get ready. Hopefully they've got some food left over from last night. I always wake up hungry when I get some exercise before bed.” Celes rolled her eyes and watched Setzer over her coffee cup as he sauntered down the hall, the maze of black lines crisscrossing his pale back disappearing into the darkness. 

# # # 

Edgar glanced at the pile of paperwork on his desk, pretty sure that if there was a list of things that you were supposed to do the morning after your 30th birthday party, reviewing land grant legislation wasn't on it. He had already been awake for three hours, checked in with the cooks, groundskeepers, Chocobo ranchers, and armory heads, then spent an hour lifting weights and doing calisthenics in the gym that Sabin had installed about a year ago. 

Edgar hated exercise for most of his younger years; he had only truly shaped up when Kefka forced him to fight for his life. After the world had returned to peace, he found that lifting helped him relax, and he also sadly admitted that liquor at 30 was nowhere near as easy to shake off as it used to be. His physique was actually better now than it was when he was ten years younger; while he would never be a beast like his little brother, he was nothing to sneeze at either.

There was a knock on his door, and his chief advisor entered. “Your highness.”

“You can call me Edgar, you know,” he responded.

“Yes, your highness. Mr. Gabbiani is here to see you.” 

“Send him in,” Edgar sighed. He shuffled the papers into a folder and filed them away. They would be around tomorrow when his advisor harangued him into reviewing them.

Setzer entered Edgar’s chambers, looking around at the high walls covered in bookshelves. “These all new? I haven't been up here for a minute,” he observed.

“Yeah, we cleared out what was left of the Cultist’s tower. Lots of books there, figured I didn't want that crazy shit in the official castle library but they were worth hanging onto for history’s sake.” Edgar stood up and properly greeted Setzer, quickly hugging him and clapping his hand on the other man’s back.

“Thanks for coming to the party last night. I’m glad you and Celes could make it,” he said, and Setzer detected the slightest melancholy tone beneath the cheerful greeting. “Are you guys heading out soon?”

Setzer shrugged. “Within the next couple of hours, I'd guess. Celes is at the guest towers with Locke and Terra, I told her to send for me when they're ready to go. She had some kind of agenda, wedding talk perhaps, you know how women can be about these things.” He actually had no idea how interested Celes was in the pomp and circumstance of marriage, but it was as good of an excuse as any for her absence.

“So I guess you're not here to ask me to help with your engagement next?” 

Setzer raised an eyebrow. “You didn't give Locke that ring or have to tell him how to propose, I hope.”

Edgar laughed sharply. “I've been holding on to that ring for Locke for years now. I think he had planned on eventually giving it to Rachel, but that obviously never happened. When he left Kohlingen and joined the Returners, I told him I'd keep it in the palace vault for safekeeping.” Setzer nodded. “Locke came and asked me for it yesterday before my address, and I figured I'd better pull a good bottle from the cellar, since once he makes up his mind to do something, there's no turning back.”

“Gotta respect a guy that takes initiative,” Setzer mused. “Seize the day.” 

“Yeah, definitely,” Edgar poured himself a cup of coffee from the carafe on his desk. “Coffee? It's still reasonably fresh.” He handed Setzer a second mug.

“Too early in the day for booze, so I'll take it.” Setzer filled the mug and took a sip. “Thanks. I've got to teach your cooks how to make a proper espresso,” he noted, “speaking of, any chance there are some leftovers from last night around? I’m ravenous and I don't know how long Celes is going to be.” 

Edgar nodded and called for his advisor to bring up a plate of food for them. When he left, Edgar leaned back in his chair and looked Setzer in the eye. “So what brings you here? Normally you're more interested in working than talking.”

Setzer pulled over a second chair and set his coffee cup down on Edgar’s desk. Time to address the reason for his visit. “Figured I'd come hang out with you when I had the chance. I see Celes every day and you only once a month or so.”

“Is seeing Celes every day such a bad thing?” Edgar raised an eyebrow. 

“Not at all. She's fantastic,” Setzer replied. “We’re not the only appointment in each other's books, though.” 

“I'd never let her out of my sight,” Edgar laughed, “guess it's a good thing she's as tough and smart as she is beautiful.”

Setzer nodded in agreement, then turned the subject 90 degrees. “So how about you? I know the Cat Lady of Jidoor is off the books. Anything else going on? Anyone local?”

Edgar sighed. “Truth is, it's a lot harder to date as a king than you'd think it would be. There are always women available, but half of them just want the name and the keys to the castle, and the rest want to be pregnant with my child before we finish dinner,” he said, rolling his eyes. 

Setzer shrugged. “Sounds like you could be getting laid almost every night, if you wanted.”

“If I wanted,” Edgar took a long drink of his coffee and motioned the attendant through the door. The attendant set a platter of finger food next to them and refilled the coffee carafe. Edgar refilled his coffee and topped off Setzer’s cup. 

Setzer thanked Edgar, swallowing down several bites in rapid succession. He’d been hungry on the Falcon, by now he was ravenous. “So,” he said, pausing for a sip of coffee, “why are you eating alone this morning, if there's a whole buffet out there?”

“You know how I feel about casual hookups.” Edgar tilted his head slightly. He had a feeling that Setzer had some sort of agenda - this topic was far from off-limits but it wasn't normally what they opened their conversations with. “I flirt a lot, but that doesn't mean I actually want to dock my ship in every port.”

“We hooked up pretty casually,” Setzer commented, peeling a banana as he talked. 

Edgar swallowed. He tried not to think about those encounters since he had learned the nature of Setzer and Celes’s relationship. Celes probably gave a damn good blowjob herself, Setzer wouldn't be back at his door out of necessity any time soon. Also, it wasn't a great idea to think of Celes giving anyone head, considering he’d used that image to jerk off more than once in recent history.

He crossed his left leg over his right knee and leaned towards Setzer. “What makes you bring that up after all this time? We’ve talked about women a lot and you normally don't mention it, even when Celes isn't around.”

Setzer polished off the banana and folded the peel up on the platter next to him. “I told Celes about you and me last night,” he said. 

Edgar’s eyes went wide. “Why would you do that? I thought you guys had a gag order on your pasts - no pun intended,” he chuckled a little bit sheepishly.

“It came up in conversation, so I told her the truth. You knew I would if it ever became necessary. She's honest with me because I am with her.”

“You've come a long way from kidnappings and mistaken identities,” Edgar noted, “I'm curious how you and I came up as pillow talk in the past 12 hours.”

“I could say the same to you, Gerad,” Setzer smirked. “He leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his long silver hair. “You need to relax. I'm not going to go to the tabloids and publish a tell-all about the King of Figaro’s massive staff and impressive family jewels.”

Edgar sighed. “You're such a prick sometimes. Seriously. Was it truth serum, guilt, or did you call my name in bed because you can't get me out of your head?”

This was probably the best opportunity that Setzer was going to get, and he silently thanked Edgar for the lead-in. “Actually, Celes can't get you out of her head, if you want the truth. And I haven't forgotten your nearly nonexistent gag reflex either.”

Edgar choked on his sip of coffee and lapsed into a coughing fit. Setzer handed him a napkin from the tray and waited for the other man to calm down before he continued. “You don't need to prove to me that you still have a gag reflex.”

“You're bullshitting me,” Edgar replied with an incredulous laugh, but his amusement was tinged with confusion and contempt. 

Setzer shook his head. “Afraid not. When she told me how she felt and what she wanted it was pretty obvious, I just didn't realize because I wasn't paying attention.” He had no idea what Edgar was going to do next, so he relaxed his posture, sipped his coffee, and let Edgar lead. He had never negotiated something like this before, but he figured he owed it to Celes to not fuck this up.

Edgar was caught completely off guard and all he had to work with was Setzer’s words and poker face. He considered the possibilities and couldn't come up with anything plausible in a short time. Setzer seemed too calm for this to be a completely negative turn of events.

“Okay…” He acknowledged that Setzer was telling the truth. “You don't appear to be pissed at me or want to fight me, so what's going on? She didn't break up with you…?”

Setzer gestured at the coffee pot. “You care if I have a refill?” Edgar waved his hand and Setzer poured another cup. He took a deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest. “Celes and I are not breaking up, and I'm not upset with either of you. I can't blame her for being attracted to you, I certainly know the feeling,” he said, smiling slyly. “I'm here with a proposition.”

Edgar took a deep breath. “What exactly are you proposing?”

“Celes and I would like you to join us,” he said, again awaiting Edgar’s response before continuing.

“On the Falcon…?” Edgar replied tentatively.

“I think it would be better here, you've got this sumptuous bed for a king and we just barely have room for the two of us on the Falcon. My place in Jidoor is really just a glorified bachelor pad,” he added as an afterthought.

“Excuse me?”

“Don't be thick, Edgar,” Setzer grinned. “Well, at least not in the head.” He leaned toward the other man, looking him squarely in the eyes. “We mean join us in bed. If you’re interested, of course. I don't take anyone against their will unless they ask me to.”

Edgar was too busy processing the former statement to pay any attention to the latter. “Does Celes want this too?”

“I said ‘we’ didn't I? She's the one who brought it up to me. Believe me, she caught me a little off guard too.” Setzer’s smile was devilish. “Celes was completely sober by the time we talked last night, before you ask, and she brought it up again this morning. I guarantee it wasn't the wine talking. She asked me if I would be interested in having you with us” - he made air quotes around the next two words with his fingers - “for fun, and after I told her that I would be, she quite literally got off on the fantasy of the three of us together.” Setzer didn't generally divulge this level of detail out of respect, but he rationalized that if it helped convince Edgar, Celes would understand.

Setzer watched Edgar’s Adam's apple bob in his throat as he swallowed a couple of times. “I've...never had a threesome before,” he started. 

That wasn't a no, so Setzer continued. “Well, that makes three of us, then. Does that mean you're game? It doesn't have to be a regular thing, unless we decide it should be.”

Edgar paused. “You said you're still attracted to me a minute ago,” He had to find out if this was legit, because if Setzer was somehow using Celes to play a terrible joke on him, he was going to personally add to the other man’s scar collection.

“Gentlemen prefer blondes,” Setzer replied.

Edgar smirked. “You're not a gentleman, Setzer.” 

“Funny...that's what she said.” Setzer’s eyes flashed. This was the kind of playful banter that Edgar used to respond to, so he hoped that meant Edgar was at least considering the proposition.

“Well, Celes is a smart woman,” Edgar set his coffee on the desk and rolled his task chair in Setzer’s direction until their knees were touching. “Smart and sexy, the perfect combination.”

“That's what attracted me to both of you,” Setzer’s voice lowered, as if anyone was around to hear him other than Edgar.

“If you want me, show me,” Edgar challenged Setzer, his blue eyes aggressive. “We’ve screwed around a half dozen times but you've never kissed me.”

Setzer didn't think twice, leaning in and kissing Edgar’s lips. He pulled away after the first kiss to gauge the other man’s reaction. Edgar moved in and kissed him back, pressing his tongue against Setzer’s closed mouth. Setzer accepted the invitation, his hand snaking behind Edgar’s braid to close around the nape of his neck, a familiar image coming to mind of doing the same but with Edgar much further south. His cock twitched at the memory, and he focused on the feeling of Edgar’s plush lips and light stubble on his face. Edgar tasted of coffee and fruit, and kissing him was very different than kissing Celes, but not in an unpleasant way.

For some reason Edgar had thought Setzer would decline, believing that kissing might be too intimate a gesture, but not only did the movement of his lips on Edgar’s feel genuine, it also felt really damn good and left Edgar wanting more. He broke the kiss and took a deep breath.

“All right,” he licked his lips, “I'll think about it,” Edgar said. “You wouldn't mind if I talked to Celes, seeing as this was her idea first?”

“Of course,” Setzer folded his arms over his chest. “And do think it over. If you decline after all, no hard feelings.”

“Deal,” Edgar nodded. “Hey, before you head out…I wanted to show you the blueprints for the system that I worked out to freeze the drink mix as it dispenses. Once I figured out the right insulation to keep the liquid coolant from freezing the delivery line it was simple.”

Setzer’s ears perked up. “Yeah, let's see those. I'm surprised the foam wrap didn't work, it’s how we keep the coolant pipes insulated in ships.”

The men stood from their chairs and left the room engrossed in a discussion of thermodynamics, Setzer’s hand pressed against Edgar’s shoulder blade as they crossed the hallway to the workshop together.

# # #

Terra and Locke stood at the bow of the Falcon, the wind blowing through their hair as the ship sailed through the sky on the way back to Mobliz. Terra especially loved the feeling; it reminded her fondly of her days as an Esper when she could fly. Locke’s arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, and Terra leaned on his shoulder. From her vantage point behind the navigation console, Celes could see his mouth moving but couldn't hear what he said.

Edgar had bid them farewell before they departed, and he had pulled her aside as Setzer had been preparing the Falcon for liftoff. 

“We need to talk,” he had murmured in her ear, squeezing her shoulder and looking her in the eye. “I'll be in Jidoor next week. Can you be there at that time?”

She had agreed, giving him the address for Setzer’s apartment. Her stomach had been tied in knots ever since that conversation, but she had no intention of discussing any of this when anyone else could hear. The benefit of the wind in their ears was sound dampening, so Celes took the opportunity to lean against Setzer, assuming a position similar to Terra and Locke’s.

“How did it go with Edgar?” Celes asked quietly in case the engine noise and wind didn't completely drown her out. 

“Fairly well,” Setzer replied, “He seems interested. That's what he wanted to talk to you about, correct?”

Celes shrugged, “He wasn't specific but I figured as much. Was he hesitant, or did he just agree straight out?”

Setzer was quiet for a moment, then said, “He asked me to kiss him to prove to him that I was still attracted to him.”

Celes faced Setzer, shocked. “Did you?” She suddenly felt betrayed; she hadn't expected anything physical to happen without her there.

“I did,” he responded, and felt her stiffen against him. In the moment, Setzer hadn't really considered how Celes would feel about the kiss, but realized he was wrong in his assumption that she would accept him kissing Edgar without her there just because she was interested in quite a bit more while she was present. “Are you upset by this?”

“I…” She looked out at Terra and Locke, and they turned back toward her, making their way back to the navigation area. Celes pasted a smile on her face. “Wind too strong for you guys?”

“A little,” Terra giggled “Locke never got to feel what it was like to fly without a ship underneath him, so he's not as tough as I am against the elements.”

“I'm plenty tough! I just didn't pack for air travel, and it gets cold up here!” Locke defended himself. “We’re just going downstairs for a minute, warm up a little.” They descended the ladder and Celes and Setzer were alone again on the ship’s deck.

Celes turned back to Setzer, who stared out into the distance, his hands idling over the steering wheel. “I know this was my idea,” she said, hesitating over each word, “but I...guess I didn't think you would take the opportunity to make out with him at the first chance you had.” 

“That's quite an accusation,” Setzer returned, his tone irritated and defensive, “I kissed him, yes, and would you like to know what happened after that?”

“I would,” Celes's heart was pounding in her throat. 

“Apparently I proved with one kiss that my intentions were legitimate, so he asked to speak to you about the matter at hand, and then we went down to the workshop to look at blueprints until you and Locke and Terra were ready to leave.”

Celes watched the clouds roll by and swallowed. “I guess it's just not exactly what I thought you had in mind when I asked if you had a plan.”

“It wasn't my plan to kiss him, but do you think that my attraction to Edgar just disappeared like a puff of smoke in the wind when I became involved with you? I was attracted to you for the entire time I was intimate, as you like to say, with him - now I'm supposed to proposition him for less than conventional sex without showing any physical interest?”

He had a point, Celes reasoned, but it wasn't sitting the right way with her. She supposed she had been naive to think that Setzer could rekindle Edgar’s interest in a physical relationship without some kind of demonstration of intent. However, she didn't consider her own jealousy becoming a factor. Certainly, there wasn't any kind of envy when she envisioned the two men being intimate, but now that the scenario was playing out she found that as much as she wanted to see Setzer with Edgar while she was a part of the scene, she didn't like the idea of the two of them without her. This was much easier in her fantasy world where the other men didn't actually have independent feelings and desires.

“No,” she sighed. “I want this, Setzer, I really do, and I'm so glad you do too, but I don't want to screw things up between us in the process.”

Setzer nodded. “I agree with you,” he said, “and I value Edgar as a friend as much as I value you as a lover and friend. I want you both, but not at the expense of either relationship.”

Celes echoed Setzer’s nod. “So how do we not mess this up?”

Setzer shrugged lightly and wrapped his arm around Celes, squeezing her shoulders. “I'm as much of an expert as you are with this sort of arrangement, darling. I suppose we need to talk first, act second...though I admit that's not my forte.”

She reached up and clasped his hand. “Then...are you okay with not kissing or being intimate with other people separately, at least until the three of us are together first?”

“I am, but that goes all ways, do you agree? Because Edgar can be nearly as persuasive as I am when he knows you're interested in him.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “I'm sorry I accused you of taking advantage of the situation,” she added.

“I shouldn't have assumed I had carte blanche,” Setzer responded, and he leaned in to kiss Celes’s lips. She kissed him back, her free hand tucked into his jacket pocket, holding him close to her. “Still the sweetest taste,” he murmured against her mouth. “Edgar is a lovely treat but I will always come home to you.”

Celes kissed him again as the wind whipped her hair into her face. She pushed the strands away and smiled. It occurred to her in that moment that Setzer’s support and open-minded understanding of her past, present and future was what allowed her to move on from the past and become the woman she had grown to be. She had allowed the military to shape her into a soldier, performing her duties; she had allowed Locke to shape her into the woman he needed, once again performing her duties. With Setzer she felt truly free to be herself, and to shape herself into the person she wanted to be. Not General Celes, not Locke’s Wife Celes - just Celes.

“I love you,” she said, realizing the strangeness of telling him for the first time in the context of a threesome negotiation, but she had never been more sure of her feelings than she was right now.

Setzer cocked his head slightly, then fully enveloped her in his arms, drawing her inside of his coat as he pressed his lips to her hair and filled his senses with Celes. “I love you too.” 

They didn't leave each other's side until the ship landed in Mobliz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My intention was to write porn without plot, the execution turned out to be a story about everyone growing up and moving on with their lives and also sleeping together, which was not the goal but I'm having fun with it so what the heck?
> 
> I swear on a stack of holy documents that I'll get to the promised OT3 before I hit 20,000 words. D:


	4. many moons since first I saw you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life after Kefka is much more normal, but with friends like these it's anything but mundane.
> 
> Celes/Edgar/Setzer, explicit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You've got to trust your instinct  
> And let go of regret  
> You've got to bet on yourself now star  
> 'Cause that's your best bet
> 
> "All Mixed Up" - 311

“I'll see you this afternoon,” Setzer said as he kissed Celes goodbye, his coat slung over his shoulder. He explained that he had business in town that he needed to see to alone, and she didn't know whether or not it was the truth or a convenient excuse to be out of the way when Edgar arrived. 

A week had passed since they had last seen Edgar. Celes spent her free moments during that time either eagerly anticipating or nervously awaiting his visit. She didn't know why she was on edge; this was just a conversation, nothing to be anxious about. Other than the whole “we're probably going to have group sex” aspect, it was just like any meeting between friends.

She took a deep breath and wished she could remember more of what Sabin had tried to teach her about meditation. Her mind had always been too busy to achieve his trance-like state; instead of clearing her thoughts and relaxing, she found herself contemplating the day’s events and her to-do list. An orgasm generally relaxed her, but she didn't really want to start down that path despite the early hour. With her luck, Edgar would show up _in medias res_ and that wasn't a situation that she wanted to deal with, especially given the hands-off commitment that she and Setzer had made. She was determined to honor it - Celes knew what it was like to lose the trust of the people you love and she would never willingly relive it.

Celes sat down on the loveseat. Against her better judgment she briefly contemplated what would happen if Edgar did enter the apartment and caught her in the midst of pleasuring herself. She envisioned his startled face taking in the sight of her splayed across the cushions, wearing nothing but her bathrobe with the tie loosened, the garment hanging open to display her naked body.

She closed her eyes and pictured the scene, her legs wide open, fingers ghosting along her pussy. She’d dip her fingers inside and slick the moisture over her clit, flicking at it and pulling at the hood just the way she liked. Celes would keep her eyes locked with Edgar's as she touched herself, teaching him what to do with her hands and words so when he was able, he would know exactly how to use his nimble engineer’s fingers to melt her.

Setzer had the poker face that one would expect from a gambler of his caliber, but Edgar often wore his heart on his sleeve. Celes thought about his focus alternating between her eyes and the motion of her hand between her legs. He would know that he couldn't touch her, hands balled into fists at his sides, aroused and helpless to relieve it. She felt powerful and fierce; the scene was hers to control. It was not unlike the feeling she had when she had mastered the use of Magitek for the first time since being infused with Shiva’s energy. 

She brushed her hand idly over a peaked nipple and shivered, then shook her head and forced herself to stop what she was doing. “You're as bad as a teenage boy,” she scolded herself aloud to the empty room, now as frustrated with herself as she fantasized Edgar to be. The three of them definitely needed to work out the proverbial fine print of their relationship soon, because the last time she remembered thinking about sex with anyone this much was her second night alone on the Falcon with Setzer, making conversation while pretending to enjoy some type of sweet dessert liquor (that she later found out Setzer also hated) and willing him to put down the glass and fuck her until she forgot the rest of the world existed. The difference in that case was that she only had to wait an hour until she was breathless and pleasantly sore.

She poured herself a glass of cold water and drank it quickly, her mouth suddenly dry, and tried to focus on anything else to quell the fire between her thighs. With her peripheral vision Celes caught eye of the leather-bound books on the kitchen table. Garza would be expecting a delivery; she had finished updating the week’s shipping ledgers last night before bed. Typically Setzer took them when he had a pickup; she decided to drop them off herself today. Celes finished her preparations and gulped down the last of her coffee. Gathering the tomes in her arms, she descended the stairs outside into the bright morning sun.

# # # 

Edgar was grateful that his advisor was paid an annual salary and not by the word, because the kingdom would be bankrupt if that were the agreement. It was Edgar’s idea to call a trade summit, as he had come to realize that two years into the post-war era, community-based subsistence farming and manufacturing wasn't the path to a thriving populace. However, his excitement about the proposition of a robust global economy was dampened by his advisor’s dry, figure-laden presentation.

He glanced at the packet in front of him, back at his advisor, and then at the representatives from Nikeah, Thamasa, and Jidoor. They had been enthusiastic in the beginning but Edgar was afraid that if his advisor droned on for ten more minutes, everyone was going to call the deal off just to end the monotony.

“Castillo,” Edgar said when his advisor came to the end of the page of data. “I'm impressed with the depth of your research, but we’ve all had a long day and I know that Mr. Laurent had a difficult journey to arrive here last night. I suggest we table the discussion and we can pick it back up this evening during dinner.”

The other men at the table nodded in agreement, and Castillo only appeared mildly disappointed that his presentation was cut short. Edgar thanked everyone for attending, and he and his advisor descended the staircase together.

“Your highness, shall we return to the-”

“I'm going to stretch my legs,” Edgar cut the other man off mid-sentence. He had a few hours until he had to have his professional face on again, and he certainly didn't want to spend all that time discussing facts and figures when there was a figure of a different sort that he was much more interested in seeing.

“Unescorted, sir?”

He knew his advisor was just doing his job, but right now he was working Edgar’s last good nerve. “I did take on the most powerful magical being this world ever knew,” he chided, “I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm going to meet a friend in town, that's all. My friends always have to come to me, makes me a little guilty sometimes.”

Castillo raised an eyebrow, and Edgar smiled. They agreed to meet an hour before dinner to strategize, which seemed to appease Castillo enough to not question Edgar any further. He exited the town hall through the front doors, the fresh air a welcome change from the stale atmosphere of the conference room. 

Normally, Setzer had come to see him in Figaro even before Celes was in the picture, so Edgar hadn't freely roamed Jidoor since they were battling at the opera house, preparing to fight Kefka. Jidoor hadn't suffered to the extent of some of the other cities of the world. He wondered if Kefka liked the opulence and spared the town from his initial wrath; Jidoor certainly seemed like a place that Kefka would have enjoyed in his less-psychotic days...if Kefka ever had less psychotic days, anyway.

He reached into his pocket and removed the card with Setzer’s address. The designation didn't mean much to him without any knowledge of the street layout of Jidoor - something else to address in the process of globalization, he supposed. One of the local shop owners would be able to direct him, he decided, and entered the nearest building with a signboard out front.

“Welcome to Garza’s,” greeted the shopkeeper, a short thin man with a thick beard and gold cuffs, “how can I help you?”

“I'm looking for a residence in town,” Edgar said, passing the card across the counter. The other man looked at the address and then paused, sizing Edgar up with a long once-over.

“What business do you have with Mr. Gabbiani?” Garza’s tone had taken on an air of suspicion.

“We’re old friends, from before the Ruin. His woman sent for me.” Edgar didn't need to disclose anything to this man - though he did wonder how well-known Setzer was in town, or if this was a coincidence.

Garza was quiet for a moment, then burst into laughter. “If you are a friend,” he said, holding his sides, “you would never call Ms. Chere ‘his woman’” he said, clearly amused with himself.

Edgar sighed. “I don't know how you know them but please, just let me know how I can find Celes.”

“You are in luck,” Garza said, “I believe your story, first, and second, Ms. Chere was here a little while ago. She told me she was stopping for lunch - try the cafe across the street,” he motioned out the window. “If she's not there, take a left from the fountain and then three rights. You'll see a red awning. That's it.”

Edgar thanked Garza with a few gold pieces, and started to leave the shop when he heard the other man call, “King of Figaro.”

“You know who I am after all.”

“Of course!” Garza shook his head. “I know a royal when I meet one, and you're the last king left in this world. I was simply protecting the interests of a good customer.” He opened a drawer and pulled out a coin with a hole in the center. “Give this to the lovely Ms. Chere when you see her,” he said. “Now on your way, don't keep a lady waiting!”

Edgar pulled the heavy door closed behind him, turning the old man’s comments over in his head as he crossed the street. Celes was sitting inside at the lunch counter, finishing the last bites of her meal. She looked up when the door opened and brightly acknowledged Edgar, motioning at the seat next to her.

“Edgar,” she wiped her mouth with a napkin, “I thought you were meeting me at the apartment.”

“My meetings finished early,” he explained, sitting down at her right. “I asked the shop owner across the street for directions and he said you might be here.” Edgar opened his hand and extended the coin to Celes. “He told me to give this to you.”

She smiled bemusedly. “Oh, Garza.” Celes shook her head. “He looks out for me,” she added, “this is his way of making sure your intentions are pure.”

The corner of his mouth turned up slightly. “And what if they're not?”

“Then I suppose it would be convenient if mine weren't either,” she returned, already setting the the tone. The waitress came by and broke up the slight air of tension between them. Edgar declined the offer of food and drink and Celes settled the check. As Celes paid her bill, the waitress made casual conversation, both of their tones cheerful. Small talk wasn't something that he remembered being her forte. The last time Edgar had spent a significant amount of time alone with Celes was in their search for their compatriots after the world had fallen to pieces; the more time he spent with her, the more he understood that she was a wholly different person now than the woman he knew back then, who wore a mask of determination to hide her depression and loneliness. 

Edgar held the door open for Celes, stepping out behind her into the town square. He took a few steps forward and turned around to face her. “Lead the way?” He wasn't having this conversation with her in the middle of a public place, that was certain. 

“Of course.” She kept pace beside Edgar and he extended his arm to her. Celes knew he was just being chivalrous (and he looked even better than usual in his diplomatic dress) but she chose to forgo the temptation to be close to him and shook her head slightly. 

“What's wrong,” Edgar chuckled, “afraid Garza will see you being ladylike instead of being a ball-buster?”

“I wish he'd cut that out,” she sighed. “No, this town is full of drama queens and gossip hounds. Better we just keep a low profile, the rich people drive me crazy with how much they talk about each other's business, be it real or imaginary.”

Edgar understood the importance of discretion and simply nodded. Idle conversation it was, then. “So Garza…he seems to know you both well. What's his significance?”

“He's the head of the merchant’s guild in Jidoor. His niece owns the restaurant I was eating at, and between the two of them they're a force to be reckoned with. It's part of the job, keeping him in our good graces,” she explained matter-of-factly.

“So I guess if I wanted to talk trade here, he’s the guy?” This was unexpected information. Edgar supposed that he would be back to Jidoor a few times before the trade deal was complete. Without Castillo, of course - Garza didn't seem like the charts and graphs type - and it would give him another excuse to see his friends.

Celes nodded. “Yeah, he keeps track of all the legitimate business here in town. Of course, there's plenty that isn’t legitimate that he knows about...which is how Setzer is familiar with him,” She turned the corner and traded nods with a man on a ladder cleaning a signboard. “This way, just a few more blocks.”

He kept pace with her, the brisk pace and warm sun making his tailored jacket feel uncomfortably close. Edgar let himself pay more attention to Celes than normal as they walked towards her house, noting the slight sway of her hips and when he got close enough, the scent of her hair. Now that being with Celes was a tangible opportunity as opposed to a distant fantasy, Edgar allowed his base desire for her to rise to the forefront, regarding her as a potential lover instead of simply a friend.

Walking a few minutes more, they passed another storefront, and a woman dressing a mannequin in the window waved at them through the glass. Celes returned the woman’s greeting, and Edgar commented, “You seem to know a lot of people here. I didn't think you were interested in settling down…” _That's why you left Locke,_ he finished to himself. 

Celes shrugged. “I wouldn't say I've settled down,” she said, motioning to the next right hand turn. “We’re really only here for a week or so out of every month. Setzer knows a lot of people from his days on the Blackjack, and I've met some through him, but most of them are customers. It’s been quite an undertaking the last few months getting off the ground,” she grinned at her own joke, “no pun intended.”

Edgar wondered why he'd never thought to ask what Celes was doing in Jidoor other than sleeping with Setzer. He should have assumed there was more to their relationship; she wasn't the type to follow a man around like a pet. “What kind of undertaking are we talking about?”

“Gambling and smuggling aren't quite as profitable without the Blackjack and the vice trade was never really my style anyway,” Celes stopped in front of a white building with a red awning. “So we’re using the Falcon to run a global express shipping service. Faster than boats, more accurate than pigeons. All for a price, of course, but there's definitely demand. It pays for us to see the world, and it's completely above board, which I think Setzer finds boring.” She smirked. “He just has to find other forms of excitement now.”

“That's what friends are for?” Edgar replied in a low voice, not sure if any of her neighbors could hear. He stood close to Celes, his hand on her shoulder. He felt her shiver under his touch as she reached in her pocket, and saw her fumble the key in the lock once before opening the door. 

“The apartment’s upstairs,” Celes swallowed, trying to keep her cool presence in the proximity of his body, larger and more powerful than Setzer’s. His hand was warm and heavy; he had touched her in a friendly way more times than she could count, but this time felt different. She was suddenly very aware of Edgar in ways that she had repressed for some time now when they were together; looking away from his lips and strong jaw towards the doorknob in her own hand, she glanced over his hands, powerful like his brother’s but finely manicured like her lover’s. 

“Ladies first,” he said, and Celes bit her lip as she climbed the stairs, feeling Edgar’s eyes on her from behind. She thought of the last time Setzer said that to her, and how much she wished Edgar had been there with them. Celes opened the door and silently reminded herself of the promise she and Setzer made to each other as she turned to face Edgar. 

“Here we are.” Celes closed the door behind Edgar, breathing deeply to keep her voice steady and not betray her cool facade, “the whole place is probably smaller than your bedroom, but it’s a lot more comfortable than dusty inns or sleeping on the Falcon.” Not that she'd been envisioning his bedroom in detail lately...

“Indeed,” he chuckled. “So. Now that we’re alone, I think we should take care of the yeti in the room.” 

“Yeah,” she replied, cursing herself for always feeling so awkward in these situations. She had overcome any negative emotions regarding this arrangement after Setzer had willingly jumped on board, and it was pretty clear that Edgar was attracted to not only both of them but also the prospect of being intimate with them together, so why in the world was this conversation still so difficult to initiate? 

She stalled. “Can I get you something? I don't make coffee nearly as well as Setzer but I can pour a decent drink.”

“Sure,” Edgar replied, meandering in a slow circle around the small front room. He could tell that she was buying herself some time, and he distracted himself by exploring their living space. The apartment was more or less one large room, with a screen separating the kitchen from the seating area. It was clear that her earlier statement was true: they didn't spend a lot of time at the house and rarely had visitors. 

“Nice place,” he commented, stopping to look at Celes’s rune blade hanging from a display fixture on the wall. He wondered if she took it with her when they traveled, or if she had hung it up along with her life as a soldier for good. A magical sword probably wasn't that useful in a world without magic, but that was a different conversation entirely.

“You're too kind,” Celes replied wryly, “now you see why we always come to see you.” She handed him his usual, a double whiskey neat, and swirled the ice cubes in her own glass before taking a sip. Celes sat down on the loveseat and Edgar joined her, his hip brushing against hers making her wish that she had chosen the kitchen table instead. 

Edgar set his glass down on the end table. “Setzer came to see me the morning after my birthday,” he said, not interested in delaying the conversation any longer. “As you know, he had an interesting proposition for the three of us.”

“I'm sure he also told you that it was my idea,” Celes took a deep breath, filling her nose with the scent of whiskey instead of Edgar, who seemed very close again. 

Edgar nodded. “He was telling the truth?”

“Yes,” she said carefully. “We decided it would be better if he brought it up with you first, considering your personal history together.”

“I see,” he replied. “So, if you don't mind my asking...your relationship with him, is it-”

Celes cut him off mid-sentence. “I love him,” she said with absolute conviction. “We’re stronger as a couple than we’ve ever been at this point. That's why I felt like I could talk to him regarding my feelings towards you, and he could reciprocate in kind.”

Edgar raised an eyebrow. They were more serious than Setzer had ever let on. “Then why me? Why now?” 

His arm slung over the loveseat cushions behind her head. Edgar had removed his jacket while she was pouring drinks, and now Celes had a hard time ignoring the stretch of his fitted shirt across his chest. Maybe her eyes were mistaking her, but he looked more toned and muscular than she remembered; he had the physique of a soldier in training, not pampered royalty.

She hesitated, searching for the right explanation, and decided to forgo any further rationalization in favor of the blunt truth. “Because I think it would be sexy as hell and really exciting,” she blurted out, and if Edgar raised his eyebrow any further it would be a permanent addition to his hairline. “I have this fantasy about being with two men at the same time...and you're the only two men I want to try it with. That's all.” 

“Do you intend for this to be...I'm not sure what you would call this kind of relationship, or are you just scratching a very particular itch?”

“I guess that depends on how we all feel, if you’re up for it,” Celes took a long drink of her whiskey, catching an ice cube in her mouth and rolling it over on her tongue. “I apologize, Edgar, I wish I could say more than ‘we'll see’ but as much as I've thought about this arrangement, the logistics are new to me. I hope you're game, but I won't be upset if you're not.” _Thoroughly disappointed, yes; angry, no._

Edgar watched her mouth the ice from her drink and immediately recalled a hazy drunken moment from his days as Gerad when someone had done similarly to him, except his nipples were involved. He crossed his left leg over his right, stifling the beginning of an erection, and focused on her eyes instead of her pursed lips. “I have to say...between you and Setzer, this is the most talking I've ever done about having sex without actually doing the deed.”

Celes laughed. “When I was in the military it seemed like all the guys did was talk about sex. I find that hard to believe.”

“Well, I'm decent with words, but prefer action,” he replied, dropping his hand to the nape of her neck, caressing the smooth skin at the top of her shoulders. Edgar felt her tense under his touch. “What's wrong?”

She shook her head. “When Setzer told me that he kissed you at the castle, we decided that this wasn't going to work if we can't all trust each other. So we set a couple of ground rules, one of which is nothing physical until we're all together,” Celes smiled ruefully, “as difficult as that might prove to be.”

Edgar nodded and instinctively pulled his hand away. “I can understand that,” he said. “I told Setzer I've never had a threesome before, and as much as I flirt, I've never actually slept with someone who I knew was in a relationship.”

“Well, what's life without new experiences?” She made an effort to be as upbeat as possible, but was still afraid that the plan wouldn't come to fruition. Edgar didn't seem to be declining the offer, but if he was going to, she hoped he would soon, because this topic had her heart beating faster and a familiar warmth tingling between her legs. He had removed his hand as soon as she had laid down the rules that she herself had requested. Celes was glad he respected the boundaries without comment, but she missed the feeling of his calloused palm on her skin. “Look,” she said, placing a hand on his knee and squeezing gently, “I'm not ashamed. In the past I probably would have been, but I'm not that person anymore.”

“Then why did you seem so reluctant to talk about this with me?” Edgar was genuinely confused.

She sighed. “I think I'm just worried. You've always been a good friend. You trusted me when almost nobody else did and you were there for me when I wasn't really even there for myself. I want you, but I also don't want to hurt you or Setzer in the process.” Celes reached for her drink and Edgar stopped her hand, catching it in his own and tugging her towards him. She looked up into his blue eyes, not sure whether she wanted to jerk away or for him to draw her closer; either way with every minute she found it harder to blame Setzer anymore for not resisting Edgar’s advances.

“The three of us been through too much for me to stop being your friend even if I didn't have any interest in tasting this whiskey off of your naked body,” he returned, and the implicit promise in his words were rocket fuel to the fire in her belly. _I did not need that image right now,_ she thought, crossing her legs and pulling her hand gently away from Edgar’s. 

“Okay, then let's set the record straight,” she said, her chest filling with resolve. “I want you, Setzer already told you he wants you, and you're clearly no stranger to friends with benefits.” 

Edgar finished the liquor in his glass with a single gulp, the heat of the whiskey burning his throat and settling in his stomach. What the hell did he have to lose? She was right; his days as Gerad and his casual relationship with Setzer had taught him the perks of experimentation. He knew he could trust Setzer, and Celes was neither a flighty status-seeker nor a desperate woman looking to fulfill her dream of being a princess. And of course he'd fantasized about sleeping with Celes since shortly after they had met, but until now she had always been off limits for one reason or another, He remembered something he'd said to Setzer and smiled at her, “Seize the day, right?”

Celes swallowed, the corners of her mouth turning up into a grin and an involuntary blush creeping up her neck. She shifted in her seat, pressing her thighs together. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, like you said, it could be fun. I already know how good Setzer is with his mouth...I'm looking forward to finding out if you measure up,” he said with a wink. She looked away for a moment, and Edgar chuckled. “So normally at this point, we would at least kiss, but I'm assuming that's off limits until Setzer’s around.”

“At least until we see if this threesome thing works,” she said, “although if I wasn't so good at sticking to my resolve, I'd definitely want you to kiss me...to start.” She through about the hungry look she had envisioned on Edgar's face in her mind’s eye that morning, and thought she saw a hint of it as she watched him now. “What are your plans for the rest of today?”

“I know what I want to do,” he replied, sighing, “but unfortunately I have to return to the inn; I have a dinner date with my advisor and a couple of diplomats tonight. It's my penance for taking the afternoon off to spend with a beautiful woman.”

Celes glanced out the window. The sunshine had given way to a dark cloud cover while she and Edgar were immersed in conversation. “You don't have to go right away, do you? It looks like it's going to rain.”

“Not for another couple of hours,” Edgar said as he checked his pocket watch, “is there anything for us to do here other than drink whiskey and not make out? Is Setzer due back today or is he gone overnight?”

Thunder rumbled and they looked upwards to the sound of fat raindrops hitting the roof. “On his way out this morning, he said he would be back this afternoon. As for something to do...are you any good at playing cards?” Celes laughed.

“As long as they don't explode,” he said, “I'm sure Setzer has at least one non-weaponized deck, right?”

She sauntered to the kitchen, rummaged in a drawer, and brought back a velvet bag holding a well-worn deck of cards. “Did you and Sabin ever play Switch when you were young? I remember Cid taught me to play to pass the time at the laboratory.”

“I think so, but in Figaro we called it Crazy Eights,” Edgar replied, watching her practiced hands shuffle the deck, glad for any distraction at this point. “Sabin always got bored after a couple of rounds and wanted to do something outside instead. I haven't played in years, but I'm sure I'll remember once we get started.” He was half hard without any foreseeable chance for release and couldn't remember a time when he had actually wanted his potential partner’s significant other to walk through the door more than he did right now.

# # #

Setzer ran up the stairs to his apartment, fishing in his coat pocket for his keys. The afternoon storm snuck up on him unexpectedly, catching him unprepared outside of town. Thankfully felted wool was naturally water resistant, but his hair and boots were drenched and he couldn't wait to get inside to dry off.

He put the key in the lock and noticed two things; first, the door opened without the key catching in the latch, and second, he could hear two familiar voices talking inside. Celes cackled gleefully, and he heard “Damn it all!” in a voice that was unmistakably Edgar. He paused for a moment; he had no reason to believe that Celes would so quickly go back on her word, but a tiny voice inside doubted her resolve.

Pushing the door open, Setzer took in the scene on the loveseat. Celes and Edgar looked up in unison, cards in their hands and strewn across the table. He glanced from Edgar to Celes, and her eyes lit up when he met her gaze. She was grinning and her cheeks were flushed, and she laid her cards down on the table as Setzer entered the apartment, toeing off his boots as soon as he was inside.

“Well,” Setzer said, “rain wasn't the only unexpected surprise today, it seems. You all seem to be having fun. That's not my combustible deck, I hope.”

“Setzer,” Edgar greeted him, “I hoped I wouldn't miss you while I was in town.”

“Welcome back,” Celes said, unfolding her crossed legs from beneath her and crossing the room to meet Setzer. She kissed him gently, and he returned her kiss with his focus on Edgar. “You're soaked,” she said, her body warm against his. Her heartbeat was rapid and there was no mistaking the color in her pale cheeks.

 _I’d bet you are too, my love,_ was on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed his words in favor of propriety until he had a chance to verify the situation. “It wasn't supposed to rain until later,” he said instead. “I realized I’d left the ledgers for Garza at home and I was on the way back to get them when the sky opened up.” Setzer shrugged out of his coat, hanging it on a hook above his wet boots. He padded back to the bedroom and came out with his hair wrapped in a towel, water spots splattered across his shirt. There wasn't room for him on the loveseat, so he pulled a chair from the breakfast nook and carried it with an empty glass to the coffee table and sat down next to Edgar and Celes. 

“Where are the ledgers, anyway?” Setzer asked as he poured himself a glass of whiskey.

“I had some errands to run, so I took them to Garza this morning after you left,” Celes explained, “and Edgar happened to be downtown while I was finishing lunch.”

“We had a chance to talk,” Edgar added, figuring at this point they weren't going to finish the game, laying his cards down next to Celes’s.

“I assume you're taking us up on our proposal?” Setzer asked. 

Edgar grinned and leaned towards Setzer, his tongue glancing over the corner of his mouth. “A wise man once talked to me about seizing the day,”

“Wise and fortunate, it seems,” Setzer laughed. “So. Your place or ours? We’re all here and I think we’re on the same page. Plus, Celes finished the errands for me so I have the rest of the night off.” The evening had suddenly become much more interesting than he had expected. 

“I think the castle probably has much more room than we do.” Celes disagreed, spreading her arms out to demonstrate. “You and I barely fit on this loveseat, the bed’s only big enough for two, and Edgar’s taller than us both.” She looked at Edgar hopefully, and he nodded.

“If I didn't have to be presentable later tonight I'd agree with Setzer wholeheartedly, but Celes has a point.”

“Always siding with the ladies,” Setzer teased. He folded his arms over his chest and shifted forward in his chair. “Promise I won't mess up that beautiful hair and nice outfit of yours...too much.”

“It's a lot less fun that way,” Edgar returned. Celes sucked her lower lip between her teeth as he leaned in and cupped Setzer’s sharp chin in his hand. Both men glanced at her quickly and she nodded her ever so slightly. Setzer lunged forward, towel slipping from the top of his head to the floor, capturing Edgar’s mouth with his own.

Celes breathed in, her heart racing as she watched Edgar kiss Setzer, catching Setzer’s lower lip in his teeth when Setzer pulled back for air. She was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be this exciting to watch your lover kiss another man in front of you, but she was also pretty sure that it didn't matter what was “supposed to be” as long as everyone involved was consenting and having fun. Edgar grabbed a handful of Setzer’s wet silver hair and kissed down the side of his throat, eliciting a groan from Setzer and a soft sigh from Celes, who was torn between enjoying the show and joining in the action. She'd been wanting since she had first run into Edgar in town, and at this point her panties were soaked through, clinging to flesh that was begging to be touched.

Setzer’s normally loose shirt was damp from the rain and clinging to his chest, the barbells that ran through his stiff nipples outlined against the fabric. She began to rise from the loveseat, intending to stand behind Setzer and play with them while Edgar kissed him. Instead, Edgar and Setzer broke the kiss when she stood up.

“Where are you going?” Setzer’s normally pale lips were bright from Edgar’s kisses, and his breath was short. “I certainly hope you're not planning on leaving this beautiful scene you've orchestrated.”

“I was going to...help Edgar out,” she said, and Edgar licked his lips. 

“If you want to help me, grab that bottle of water and get back over here,” Edgar said.

Setzer ran a hand through his damp, disheveled hair, not missing a beat. “Yes, I think I've been far too selfish with our guest’s attention. I've had the pleasure of both of you; it would be impolite to not allow you a taste of each other.”

Celes carried the bottle to Edgar, who took a long drink and passed it to Setzer. “Since when did you become such a gracious host?”

He set the water bottle down on the table and wiped an errant drop from the corner of his mouth. Setzer’s face was impassive but his chest rose and fell quickly with his breath. “Since I decided that I didn't want to wait another week or so to try out our new arrangement. And you've been waiting even longer, love, and I know you don't like to be kept waiting.”

Celes sat back down next to Edgar, who had loosened the collar of his shirt, exposing a swath of smooth tanned skin. “As much as I want to to have my way with you both right now, there's not enough time or space tonight to really enjoy ourselves,” Edgar said, his fingertips trailing down Celes’s pale arm from her shoulder to her wrist and catching her hand in his, “But if you're offering, I'll take a preview of things to come.”

While he was aggressive and dominant with Setzer, Celes sensed that Edgar was waiting for her to initiate the kiss. She glanced at Setzer, who watched them with half-lidded eyes, not making any effort to hide his obvious erection. He took a sip of his whiskey and leaned back in his chair.

She squeezed Edgar’s hand and pulled him towards her this time, his broad form covering hers as their lips met. The first kiss they shared was tentative, a light brush of her lips against his. He tasted like whiskey and smelled exotic, a crisp sandalwood scent that she'd never think of the same way again.

“You okay?” His eyes met hers and she nodded, throwing her arms around his neck and bringing him close. Edgar’s thigh pressed between her legs and she tipped her head back to kiss him again, accommodating the difference in their height, something she wasn't used to. His lips were soft but his kisses were firm, and Celes shifted against Edgar, his dick pressing into her belly and his hard thigh a welcome source of pressure against her aching sex.

Celes took the initiative, encouraging Edgar by flicking her tongue against his closed mouth, silently asking him to deepen the kiss. He responded with an enthusiastic noise and pushed her back against the arm of the loveseat, snaking one arm behind her back and keeping the other hand entwined with hers. While she couldn't see Setzer, just knowing he was there sent a fresh surge of desire through her body, and she curled her bare toes against the wood floor.

Setzer was no stranger to Edgar’s skilled tongue, and it looked like the king was affording Celes the full royal treatment. He repositioned his chair to get a better vantage point. They were a beautiful sight - Edgar’s sun-bleached blonde braid draped over Celes’s shoulder, mingling with her own curtain of blonde hair spread out behind her. Setzer watched Celes grind against Edgar’s thigh, a pale pink flush coloring her cheeks as they kissed. Edgar had Celes pinned to the sofa, his biceps flexing to maintain balance. Setzer drained the last of his whiskey and decided if this show went on much longer, he had no choice but to either join in or jerk off.

“Oh my god,” Edgar groaned, Celes’s mouth was moving slowly from his lips to his exposed collarbone, leaving a trail of wet kisses along the way. He licked his lips and squeezed her shoulders to stop her as her fingers went to his buttons, needing to keep his clothing in a reasonable semblance of order. Celes paused for a moment and looked up at him; Edgar sat back onto the loveseat and sighed deeply. 

“What's wrong? Did you not like that?” Celes desperately wanted Edgar to take off his shirt; she needed to see if his body was actually as gorgeous as it felt. She didn't realize how much she would enjoy feeling overpowered; then again, she'd never been with a man who was significantly larger than she was. Setzer was only an inch taller than her, which was often advantageous, but Edgar presented a new realm of psychological and physical possibilities. 

Edgar shook his head. “No, you - both of you - you're fucking incredible. Seriously. I have to go to this dinner, though, and I can't walk across Jidoor and show up for a diplomatic function looking and smelling like I just left a brothel.”

“I mean,” Setzer grinned, “I have. It's an interesting conversation starter.” 

Edgar's smile was bemused. “Yeah, well, that's where being a king has me at a definite disadvantage. You do that and it's gossip, I do it and it's a political incident.” Gerad hadn't had this problem. Nobody blinked twice when the leader of the thieves’ guild had a one-night stand or showed up at a gathering with lipstick on his collar. It was, to a degree, expected. “Before you suggest I skip out, if I do they'll send out a search party, and I don’t want to deal with that either.”

Celes finished the bottle of water on the table in two gulps. “So...I guess this means we call it a night?” She was disappointed that Edgar apparently had no choice but to leave, but if this was where they had to call it off, she doubted that she and Setzer would make it all the way to the bedroom. Even kissing Edgar was more than Celes expected to do today, and at this point she was so aroused she would probably come if one of the men breathed on her the right way.

Setzer folded his arms over his chest. “How much time do we have?” An idea was brewing in his head, and damned if he wasn't going to try to make it happen. It was worth a shot, even if the odds didn't seem favorable.

“I have to meet my advisor by six, so...a half hour?” Edgar shrugged. He was less concerned at this moment about getting back on time and more about how hard he was. Celes’s hands on his body and the look that Setzer had on his face wasn't helping the situation one bit.

“You can't go walking across Jidoor with that in your pants,” Setzer motioned to Edgar’s hard-on, and Edgar snorted. “Don't want to cause a political incident, right?”

“What are you suggesting?” Edgar had a pretty solid idea of where this was going, but needed to hear it from them.

“He's suggesting you let us help our friend out.” Celes glanced at Setzer, who grinned back at her. She nodded, and smiled at Edgar. “Please? I really want to.” She squeezed his thigh, her hand straying closer to the bulge in his pants. Setzer stood behind her, stroking her hair and smiling. All according to plan.

Edgar knew when he was outnumbered, and he'd never been able to refuse the pleas of a beautiful woman. “I'm taking these off first,” he said, and Celes looked towards Setzer again when Edgar stood up, stripping off his dress trousers and underwear and hanging them over the back of Setzer’s chair. Celes and Setzer both appreciated the view from behind.

“Have you been working out?” Celes finally had to ask.

Of all things to be embarrassed about, this question was the one that seemed to get to Edgar. “Yeah, a little. Helps me relax,” he said, turning back towards them. It was vaguely awkward to stand in front of them, naked from the waist down and fully hard, but neither Celes nor Setzer seemed to mind one bit.

“Ah, it's been a minute, but I couldn't forget that beautiful dick,” Setzer murmured. “Celes, why don't you do the honors, darling?” 

“What about you?” Celes picked up her whiskey glass, empty except for ice cubes, and wet her mouth with the melted ice. “You're not just going to watch?”

“I'll join in when the time’s right,” Setzer said, and glanced at Edgar, sitting on the sofa. While Setzer and Celes had been talking, Edgar primed his cock with a couple of strokes. It jutted forward, a drop of precome leaking from the tip. 

Celes grabbed a pillow from the couch and knelt between Edgar’s parted knees. He looked down at her reverently as her hand took the place of his, slender fingers wrapped around his shaft. Her blue eyes were wide, and her lips curled into a knowing smile. 

“Do you like it a certain way…?” She watched his thigh muscles tighten as she pumped her fist up and down his length, slicking her palm with the fluid dribbling from his dick. Ideas coursed through her head, most involving how he would feel inside of her, and she considered begging Setzer to take care of her while she worked on Edgar.

“Just suck me,” he grunted, knowing that he wasn't going to last as long as he'd like to. “Please,” he added as an afterthought. 

Celes was happy to oblige, dipping her head down and taking the head of his prick into her mouth. His dick was heavy on her tongue, and she took more of him in, saliva dripping down his shaft. She repeated that motion a couple of times, and on the third she swallowed as much of his cock as she could muster. The noise he made was delicious. “Fuck,” she heard Edgar groan, and looked up to see Setzer perched on the loveseat next to Edgar, mouthing the shell of Edgar’s ear, kissing along the blonde man’s jaw down to his lips. 

She watched Setzer kiss Edgar for a moment, his lips nipping at Edgar’s in the same way she liked. Celes returned her attention to Edgar's cock, lapping up the fluid from the tip before taking him back between her lips. She sucked at his head, stroking her tongue along the ridge while working her hand up and down his thick shaft. 

“Don't stop,” Edgar said to both of them simultaneously. His orgasm was approaching at an almost embarrassing pace, Celes’s mouth enveloping his dick and Setzer’s sucking on his neck and collarbone just hard enough to burn pleasantly, but not so rough as to leave a mark. He glanced down at Celes over Setzer’s hair, catching a glimpse of her face, blue eyes wide and reddened lips stretched around his cock. The sight of her surpassed any that his mind had ever conjured, and the sensation was about to break him.

Edgar thrust upwards and Celes relaxed her throat as much as she could to accommodate his length. He reached down, threading his fingers through her hair, gently guiding her head until she picked up the rhythm. God, they were both unbelievable. Why the hell had he ever considered passing this up?

Edgar groaned, his hands releasing the back of Celes’s head. “Almost there,” he choked out, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple, free hand grasping his thigh hard enough to bruise.

Celes gasped, “do it,” and Setzer kissed Edgar again, digging his nails into the back of Edgar’s neck, underneath his shirt collar where no one would see the red half-moons left behind. Edgar’s hips snapped forward and his head dropped back, Setzer swallowing his groan as Celes swallowed through his orgasm.

“What’s that?” Celes turned around, wiping off the corner of her mouth with her hand. Her hair was mussed and her eyes were damp, but she was smiling. “Something’s ringing.”

“Shit,” Edgar sighed, “that's the alarm on my watch.” He sighed deeply and willed the power to stand back into his body, meanwhile offering a hand to Celes to help her up from her seat on the floor.

“Good thing you didn't last as long as you usually do,” Setzer’s face broke into a shit-eating grin as he ribbed Edgar. “Or maybe it's age catching up with you?”

“Whatever, old man. If your game was half as good as hers, I wouldn't have ever lasted,” Edgar shot back with a good-natured laugh. Celes shook her head and covered her mouth to hide her giggles. Edgar grabbed his clothes from the chair and quickly dressed, straightening the collar of his shirt as he tucked the tails into his pants. “Come here,” he turned to Celes, tilting her head upwards and bending down to kiss her lips, and she happily obliged, standing on her toes to reach him. “That was incredible,” he said, his fingertips trailing down her face.

“I'm glad,” she said hopefully, “does this mean you'll be joining us again?” 

Setzer tucked his arm around Celes’s waist. “Imagine all the things we could do if we weren't worried about alerting the neighbors or crowding onto this loveseat.”

“Oh, I already am,” Celes smiled serenely, her arm over Setzer’s shoulder. “Next time I want to be in the middle.” She felt Setzer’s arm tighten around her waist, and she knew he approved of this plan.

Edgar feigned a labored sigh, “All right, I guess you've convinced me. Give me a few days to schedule a holiday for the castle staff. Not spontaneous, I know, but…”

“It's okay,” Celes said, “we understand. Scheduling your fun sometimes is part of having regular jobs, right?”

“I still don't understand the appeal of the ‘regular job’, but Celes is very committed to it, so I'll agree.” Setzer added. “Don't you have some kind of important political function to attend now, though? Not that I'd ever ask you to leave, but I would rather the royal guard didn't come knocking on our door looking for you.”

“You're always so charming,” Edgar leaned in to kiss Setzer goodbye, and followed with a farewell kiss for Celes. “Thank you both for a very pleasant afternoon.” 

Edgar closed the door behind him, and he heard Celes squeal and Setzer laugh as he headed down the hall and down the stairs. “Glad I'm not their neighbor tonight,” he chuckled to himself. As he walked outside into the night air, breathing in the scent of the rain-soaked city, he thought of where he was going and how much he'd rather be with his friends than eating mediocre tavern food and discussing economics. His mood soured, and he decided to focus on his plans for the future - both personal and professional - instead of the minutiae of getting there.

One thing was for sure, though: if Castillo brought out that damn book at the dinner table, he was going to set it on fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking of calling their courier service FalEx but I have to keep a modicum of decency in this story, after all. ;)
> 
> Thanks for reading this far - I genuinely hope y'all are enjoying this, I'm having fun writing it!


	5. try to see it once my way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When life gives you lemons, squeeze them into a protein shake and spend some quality time with your twin brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Memories like fingerprints are slowly raising  
> Me you wouldn't recall, for I'm not my former  
> It's hard when you're stuck upon the shelf  
> I changed by not changing at all, small town predicts my fate  
> Perhaps that's what no one wants to see
> 
> "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town" - Pearl Jam

The trio soon discovered that the best-laid plans often are the most susceptible to the vagaries of life. A week-long delay turned into over a month, all due to circumstances completely beyond their control.

Setzer was first. Technical problems with the Falcon stranded him in Tzen, delaying his return by several days. Celes arranged to have the broken parts shipped in by ferry, but the entire process took five days from receiving the raw material, retooling with a machinist, to arrival and installation at their final destination. As a result of the delay, Celes and Setzer had to put in overtime to ensure their deliveries were made, forcing them to reschedule their plans to visit the castle.

Celes was next, for no other reason than the prospective day fell during the wrong time of the month. She found it patently unfair that her period still came even though she couldn't have children, but she had never been so disappointed as she was this particular month. Setzer and Edgar offered another round of foreplay as a consolation, but Celes wanted little more during that time than a hot water bottle and junk food. Setzer gave her a backrub, Edgar sweet-talked his chef into cake, and both men got their fair share of appreciative kisses in return but the night ultimately passed with Edgar and Setzer drinking coffee and tinkering in the workshop while Celes curled up with painkillers.

Finally, Edgar had attempted to give the castle staff a long weekend, but found them to be surprisingly stubborn when it came to his needs. Despite assuring them that he wouldn't starve, the Chocobos would all be fed and watered, and the proposals on his desk would be read and annotated by the time his advisor returned from holiday, the staff couldn't agree on three consecutive days that they all wanted to take. Edgar was tempted to issue an official decree but decided against it; forcing the issue would no doubt bring a number of questions that he didn't want to answer. So he let it drop for the moment and began researching alternate means for their rendezvous. 

Four weeks after their evening in Jidoor the group was no closer to their goal; Celes and Setzer had hardly seen Edgar since he had left their apartment. Fortunately, Edgar had a number of delightful new visuals to jerk off to in the shower, but unfortunately he craved their touch and companionship more than anything. He allowed himself a moment of self-pity; Setzer and Celes certainly didn't have to wait for the world’s permission to get laid, they simply ducked away from the world for a few moments to indulge in each other's company. 

Edgar thought back to the days following the Ruin, alone in Nikeah masquerading as Gerad. It was a terrible nickname and he didn't know how a beard and cheap hair dye fooled so many people, but it afforded him an escape from both the tragedy that he wasn't ready to confront and the responsibility of his life as a king. 

A night of drunken revelry had followed his inauguration as head of the thieves’ guild. He recalled a beautiful woman he had never seen before (and would never see again) who shamelessly approached him, gave him the spare key to her room, and swayed drunkenly back to her girlfriends on the other side of the bar. Edgar was a flirt and a ladies’ man; Gerad was a hedonist who had no need for self-control. So, when Edgar was three sheets to the wind and horny as hell, Gerad had no trouble taking over as he did that night. He didn't ask her name and she didn't care to know his; she simply wanted the trophy of fucking the new leader of the thieves’ guild, and he temporarily forgot his losses in the soft curves of her tits and the slick heat of her pussy.

The next morning he thought there would be some kind of blowback or judgment from his new subordinates. Instead all he received was a muddy cup of coffee and a recommendation to get checked out at the town clinic. Thankfully he’d learned Cure spells, though he had never expected to use them to clean up after a one-night stand. 

Once he realized that Gerad Niro of the Thieves’ Guild had as much influence as Edgar Roni, King of Figaro, albeit in a different way, he threw caution to the wind and exploited his position to gain as much information as he could from the people in and around the town. Men typically had more to share than women in the post-apocalyptic world; there were also fewer women passing through Nikeah, which helped Edgar in that he knew the appeal of a pretty face and a willing mouth when there was a shortage of both, and he was aware that everyone had a threshold. His first blowjob was given to a wealthy man who held Edgar’s braid like a leash and demanded that Gerad call him “sir” for the entirety of their encounter. The man was a prick, but had information about a drunk he’d encountered recently in Kohlingen who had, as he put it, “pretty hair like yours, boy, but silver” who had scammed him out of a significant amount of Gil recently, so it wasn't a total loss. Thankfully, most of his subsequent experiences with men weren't as extreme, though nowadays he wondered if perhaps elements of that scenario could be fun in a more consensual setting. He decided to bring that up with his new partners, if they ever managed to work out a time in their schedules to actually have sex with each other.

The end of his days as Gerad brought about the end of his promiscuity. There wasn't really time for sleeping around as the team fought for their lives and the future; also, the loss of magic meant the end of Cure, which was Gerad’s reprieve from poor decisions. Most of all, his relationships didn't feel as meaningless as they did during the first year of of the Ruin. Edgar realized in hindsight that he probably hurt some of the people that he slept with, first to fill the empty place in his heart, and later for profit; men and women who might have had hope for more than what Gerad had in mind. He had no plans to take a monk’s vow of celibacy _a la Sabin_ , but he declared himself finished with meaningless sex after that.

Setzer was exempt from said declaration, for a variety of reasons that were always perfectly valid when he knelt between Edgar’s legs and deep-throated his dick, and now Edgar found himself at odds between his desire for Celes and Setzer and his decision to eschew temporary physical encounters in favor of a potentially long term relationship. This new situation felt different from a simple hookup, despite bringing him no closer to his endgame.

Edgar heard footfalls behind him and sat up from his prone position on the weight bench as the door swung open. Thankfully, reminiscing about his exploits as Gerad and thinking of his past and future encounters with Celes and Setzer hadn't left him tenting his loose workout pants. It would have been awkward in front of almost anyone, but his chaste twin brother was definitely at the top of that list.

“Hey,” Edgar called to Sabin. “What the heck are you doing home? I thought you were on the road training for at least another week.”

“Cyan needed a break, the old bastard,” Sabin laughed, his booming voice echoing off the walls. “He's great with the kids but he's not unstoppable like the Figaro boys.”

Edgar grinned. Nothing broke up introspection like Sabin’s frank sense of humor. “You going to be here for a bit?”

“I thought I’d stay a few days. We have our first classes starting in a couple of weeks. Speaking of which, can I borrow Castillo for a day or so? I'm crap with numbers, and Cyan keeps calling the adding machine an ‘infernal mechanical contraption’ so I was hoping he could help us balance the first set of books.”

It was Edgar’s turn for a belly laugh, “Keep him for as long as you need, man. He does good work, but he can't compare to the Chancellor,” Edgar’s brow crumpled slightly at the memory of his former right-hand man. He shook the feeling off as quickly as it came on. “I'm glad we were able to work out the details on the building for you, though.”

Sabin clapped Edgar on the shoulder. “We make a pretty good team sometimes, huh? Thanks for that, I'm about as good of a negotiator as I am a bean-counter. But hey, show me a business guy that can suplex a train!” He laughed again at his own joke. 

Edgar shook his head bemusedly, then stood up from the weight bench and lifted the barbell off of the risers. “Not bad at all,” Sabin appreciatively observed the numbers marked on the weights. “You've been down here more often, huh? You're looking pretty cut these days. Now if you just quit drinking whiskey and eating all that bread-”

“I work out so I can enjoy liquor and bread, thank you very much,” Edgar rolled his eyes. “Spot me on squats, will you? Nobody else around here I can trust to catch the weight.”

“Sure,” Sabin leaned against the rack of weights and helped Edgar position the bar across his back. “Man, you didn't even like carrying your own tools back in the day. All you were good at was being good-looking, hitting on every woman you met, and telling people what to do.”

“Ha,” Edgar breathed, balancing the weight across his shoulders, “I'm still good at those things.” He took a deep breath, set his heels and pushed himself up to a standing position with a groan. He checked his form in the mirror, and Sabin nodded his approval. Sabin stood by Edgar’s side, counting the reps down as Edgar pushed through them, and when Edgar’s legs faltered on the fifth rep Sabin caught the bar in his hands. “Nice. You should come work out at our gym, seeing as we wouldn't have it without your help.”

“Yeah, if I get some free time,” Edgar said, taking a drink from the water sitting next to the weight racks. He stretched his arms over his head, grabbing the bar at the top of the weight racks and pulling himself up a few times. 

“You that busy nowadays? The kingdom seems to be running itself. You've really whipped the place into shape - it looks better than it did before Kefka turned everything to shit,” Sabin said, picking up a rather heavy hand weight and curling his bicep as if he was holding a bag of feathers in his hand instead of a block of solid iron. 

Edgar shrugged modestly, watching his brother effortlessly lift the same weights he had barely been able to manage a day or two ago himself. “While you've been off training…” He thought for a moment. “Let’s see, I threw a party for the kingdom, helped Locke propose to Terra, got a new personal best or three down here in the gym, moderated two trade summits...and that doesn’t count the reams of paperwork Castillo still makes me review every week. Not that I'd ever wish for another Gestahl or Kefka, but being a king in peace-time sometimes seems like more work than when there was a single threat to focus on.” _Oh, and I found out that Celes gives fantastic head and she and Setzer want to have sex with me, but no big deal, doesn't stuff like that happen to everyone from time to time?_

“Wow,” Sabin said with a slight shake of his head. “I'm glad I won that coin toss when we were kids...I can't imagine doing any of those things, much less keeping track of them all.” He set the weight down and resumed his prior position as Edgar squatted with the weight bar again. “Five more reps? I can't help you with paperwork but this is my specialty.”

The brothers traded off spotting each other for the remainder of Edgar’s workout session, Sabin seamlessly integrating himself into the rhythm that his older brother established. Edgar appreciated the company and the challenge of lifting with someone significantly stronger; Sabin pushed him to try heavier weights than he normally used, knowing that he would be there to assist if the workout became too intense. By the end of the circuit both brothers were soaked in sweat and grinning at their achievements.

“Damn, I didn't think I was going to make it to 10 on that last round,” Edgar handed Sabin a towel. “You're a good coach, little brother.”

“Never thought we would be lifting together - I figured you'd convert the gym into a closet for your shoes after I wandered off the first time, but I'm glad it's working out for you,” Sabin clapped Edgar on the shoulder. “Let's get some food - I'm starving!”

Over lunch, Edgar told Sabin the story of Locke’s proposal to Terra, and Sabin shared his tale of teaching Gau to read.

“So once he figured out that he could read books on his own, he started tearing through anything and everything he could find,” Sabin explained, “including Cyan’s copy of “Bushido In The Bedroom”.”

Edgar chuckled. “I remember when we found that book in the cave,” he recalled, “I didn't have the heart to open it, but I'm amused that he still has it. Did Gau actually read it?”

Sabin swallowed a huge bite of his sandwich. “He was trying to, but I told him he should save that particular book for later. I figure I'm not the best person to have that conversation with him,” he said sheepishly. 

Edgar raised an eyebrow and reached for his drink. “Why not? You kinda took him under your wing in all other aspects...I think he's better off with you guys than he ever would have been if we sent him back to his father.”

“Ah, you know,” Sabin scratched his head awkwardly, “the life of a monk isn't rich in the knowledge of women,” he replied. “Most of the time that's okay, though.” Sabin’s eyes searched briefly for something. “The birds and the bees can be Cyan’s job.”

“Is Cyan still with that woman from Maranda? Lola, was her name?”

“Yeah,” Sabin grinned, his expression bright again, “she's really been a big help to us! Hey, I've got an idea...maybe I'll ask Castillo to teach her how to do the books…then she can come and work with us at the gym. Cyan seems lonely without her, so it’d help him out too.”

“That's a good plan,” Edgar nodded. “I could use a break from Castillo for a few days.” This was an unexpected positive turn of events. If Sabin could get Castillo off his back for a weekend, he could easily turn it into time for himself, Setzer, and Celes. “I like the guy but he takes his job way too seriously,” he added.

Sabin shook his head. “Man, how weird is this? You and me, here talking about all this regular adult stuff.”

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, you know. Three years ago you and I hadn't even seen each other since we were teenagers. Now you're, like, bringing the world together. I'm actually running my own gym with students of my own. And we’re helping each other out, too.” He took half of Edgar’s sandwich off of his plate and popped it in his mouth. “I think our father would be proud of you. He wanted us to work together and be good kings of Figaro, and it seems like you've gone way beyond that.”

Edgar smiled and scratched his head awkwardly. “Thanks. Half the time I'm just going with my gut so I'm glad it seems like I've got a master plan.” He sighed and looked off into the distance.

“What could you possibly be stressing out about?” Sabin punched Edgar in the arm, and Edgar winced. “The fact that you're still no match for me?" he chuckled.

“There's no heir to the kingdom,” Edgar pointed out. “Our father had us by the time he was our age.” This fact had crossed his mind more than a few times since beginning to plan his rendezvous with Celes and Setzer.

“What's wrong?” Sabin eyed Edgar suspiciously, “You got awfully quiet all of a sudden.”

“Just thinking about how I'm 30 years old, and I've managed to fulfill all of my duties as a king except the most important one.”

Sabin rolled his eyes. “Maybe some of that old world stuff isn't so important anymore,” he said. “You going to finish that cheese?”

“My responsibilities to the kingdom are part and parcel of being King,” Edgar replied, shaking his head as he pushed the plate across the table to his brother. “A kingdom needs a ruler, and a king is supposed to have an heir to pass the rule to. I'm no closer to that than I was three years ago.” _Instead, I’m in some kind of weird three-way situation with my friends, and I wish I could admit to you or anyone else that I'd rather have them than a wife and kids right now._

Sabin stuffed a handful of cheese cubes in his mouth, chewed thoughtfully for a moment, then swallowed and looked at Edgar resolutely. “Do you want to get married and have kids?”

Edgar blinked. “Well, sure. Of course I do. Why else would I entertain the thought of so many women?”

“Is there someone in particular you have in mind? Don't tell me you're considering Relm again, man. She's only 14.”

“No, no,” Edgar replied, “I was kidding about that, seriously. I didn't want her to feel left out when I kept making passes at Terra and Celes.” 

Sabin raised an eyebrow. “If you say so. Anyway, sounds like you're saying you want to get married because you feel like people think you should be married and you're not living up to their expectations, not because you found someone you want to have as your wife and be the mother of your kids.” He shook his head. “That's pretty dumb.”

Edgar crossed his arms over his chest and glared frustratedly at his brother. “You're the one who’s free to do what you want with your life.” he pointed out. He wondered if Sabin would be so supportive if he knew what Edgar was planning in his spare time.

Sabin groaned. “Didn't you promise me that we were both going to go forward without regret all those years ago? Life's pretty good now, and it's definitely better than it was when the biggest threat was the Empire.” Sabin grabbed Edgar by the shoulders. “If you were that concerned about a queen and an heir, you would have married that lady from Jidoor with all the cats the first three times she asked.”

Edgar shook his head exaggeratedly and Sabin gave a resolute nod. “You're a good king, and you care about Figaro, but you worry too much about what people think. You always have, no matter how cocky you act. If you find a woman that you want to marry, then do it. Until then, just do your thing and let the details work themselves out. The people will understand. They're really just happy to be alive. You should get out of your fancy politician meetings and spend some time with them, you'd see that for yourself.”

Edgar silently absorbed his brother’s words for a few moments. If the people were happy, then he should be happy as well. He certainly wasn't going to fly a banner advertising his threesome over the castle or give up on a wife either, but he also didn't always need to put the kingdom before his own well-being. “You have a point,” he grinned slowly, “You rarely have a point, little brother, but I think I'm picking up what you're putting down.”

Sabin laughed. It was good to see Edgar return to good spirits. “You're making card references now, I think you're spending too much time with Setzer. How are he and Celes doing?”

“Good,” Edgar responded a little too quickly. “I'm seeing them next week in Thamasa, along with Terra and Locke.” The trip was the light at the end of the royal responsibility tunnel, and it had been at the back of his mind almost constantly since the invitation had arrived.

“Oh yeah? What's up with the long trip out there?”

“I guess the tradition Locke knows is a wedding ceremony with fancy outfits followed by a party with the bride and groom, and he won’t settle for anything less.” he chuckled. “Anyhow, Terra decided she wanted Relm's designer friend to make her dress for the wedding, and she's in Thamasa.”

“What's that got to do with you?”

“Terra and Locke asked Celes and me to be a part of the wedding, like witnesses. They want us to dress up too. Pretty different from how we do it here, huh?”

“Sounds kinda neat,” Sabin shrugged. “Marriage is like...an agreement between families here, I didn't know it was a party anywhere else. Not that I ever paid too much attention to getting married, anyway,” he added, “that was going to be your deal, King Edgar.”

Edgar’s brow furrowed slightly. “You're going to go to their wedding, though? I hope so, you missed your own birthday party this year.” 

Sabin nodded vigorously. “There's no way I’d miss this shindig, especially if you have to wear a dress too.” His grin lit up the room. 

“I don't think guys wear dresses at weddings,” Edgar rolled his eyes, reminding himself to confirm that fact with Locke before he agreed to anything else. 

There was a knock at the door, and Edgar called, “come on in.”

“Your highness. Master Sabin.” Castillo greeted the brothers and turned to Edgar. “Sir, I apologize for the interruption, but we must prepare for the visit from the Albrook ambassador this afternoon. I've analyzed your research and developed some fascinating visual aids for your presentation.”

Edgar felt a small part of himself die inside. “Hey, Castillo. Sabin needs your help running some numbers for his new martial arts academy. Why don't you guys go over the numbers and I'll catch up with you later?”

Castillo clapped his hands together. “I suppose we can postpone our discussion for an hour or two.” He turned to Sabin, whose eyes shot daggers at Edgar’s back as he turned to leave the room. “Now, let’s get started, Master Sabin...tell me about your proposed business model…”

The door closed and Sabin silently reminded himself that while Edgar might be a king to everyone else, he was still Sabin’s brother, and as such he had every right to kick Edgar’s ass whenever it was necessary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edgar and Sabin took over my brain for a little while but C/S returns next chapter!
> 
> BTW, if you've never heard Pearl Jam's album "Vs" you should check it out :D


	6. the chemicals between us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love, family, airships, sex in the shower, bridesmaid dresses, and letting go, not necessarily in that order.
> 
> Celes/Setzer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alone, listless, breakfast table in an otherwise empty room  
> Young girl, violence, center of her own attention  
> The mother reads aloud child tries to understand it  
> Tries to make her proud  
> The shades go down it's in her head  
> Painted room, can't deny there's something wrong
> 
> "Daughter" - Pearl Jam

“Hand me the spanner,” Setzer said around the bolts that he held in his mouth. Celes passed the tool to him, and he sighed as the bolt he had just placed slipped from the nut and washer and rolled underneath the rear propeller stabilizer.

“Let me,” she said, and reached around to hold the hardware in place while he fastened the spanner to the bolt head. “It's easier with two of us, huh?” Ever since Setzer’s breakdown in Tzen, she had been working to better familiarize herself with the mechanical functions of the Falcon. While she doubted she would ever share Setzer’s passion for aeronautical engineering, she hated the helplessness she felt while he was stranded. If she had been more capable of speaking to the Falcon’s parts and pieces, she could have jumped in sooner and far less time and money would have been lost.

The spanner clicked as the nut tightened and Setzer rapped his knuckles on the auxiliary air intake port with satisfaction. “It certainly is,” he replied, “wish I'd always known you were this good with your hands.”

Celes smiled at his double entendre. “We didn't always have mechanics with our unit, especially when it was a small strike force. I learned a thing or two about tools when the Magitek Armor broke down in the field and we had to fix it ourselves.”

“A woman who’s not afraid to get her hands dirty,” he grinned, “we’ll just add that to the list of irresistible things about you, love.”

“Well, I'm much better at getting dirty than dressing up in lace and ribbons,” she replied.

Setzer sat back and twirled the spanner between his slim fingers. “What if Terra wants you to wear lace and ribbons at her wedding?”

Celes raised an eyebrow. “Do you think she would?” 

They were leaving for Thamasa in the morning, to fetch Edgar, Terra, and Locke to meet with Relm’s designer friend. Celes wasn't as excited about being poked and prodded and measured as she was about the prospect of seeing her friends - especially Edgar. Unbeknownst to either of the men, she had made arrangements during their last visit with the owner of a beachside guest house on the outskirts of town for the weekend instead of booking rooms at the inn. Relm had shown the house to Celes - it was near an overlook where the younger woman liked to paint in the mornings. The last experience Celes had with a beach house was so tragic that she decided this was the perfect opportunity to replace the memories of the Solitary Island with memories of the man she loved...and the man for whom her feelings had become unexpectedly complicated.

“Hello?” Setzer waved a hand in front of Celes’s face, and she blinked and nodded, her ponytail swishing with her vigorous movement. “You asked me if I thought Terra would make you revisit your Opera House ensemble, and after that you disappeared into the ether.”

“Sorry, I got distracted,” Celes admitted sheepishly, leaning in to kiss Setzer. He kissed her back but she was fairly certain he knew where her mind had gone. “I hope not. I hated that dress.”

“Pity, because I didn't have the chance to see it on my bedroom floor back then.”

“Well, if the one I have to wear in this wedding is half as bad, I'll let you rip it off me,” she replied. “I don't know how I'd explain that to Terra, though.”

“Just tell her that I had a violent allergic reaction to Locke’s fashion sense,” Setzer mock-shuddered. As he talked, he started gathering spare fasteners from the ground and sorting them into their containers. “Every time we discuss this wedding, you seem to wander off,” Setzer said. “You keep claiming that nothing is wrong, but I often wonder what's going on in your head.” He cocked his head at her. “You're not upset, are you?” I know I've asked before but I'm out of ideas.”

“No, I told you, I'm happy that Terra finally found the love she was looking for, and I’m completely over Locke. I occasionally think about our relationship and it feels kind of like a weird past life.”

“I thought we weren't going to talk about the past.”

“Well,” Celes shrugged, “You’ve told me a few things about Darill, Maria, and now Edgar. I guess we've already broken that pact. Locke's as much a part of my history as they are yours.”

“Whatever you want to tell me is fine...though I really don't want to know how Locke is in bed,” Setzer replied, and Celes laughed sharply. 

“Afraid you're not going to measure up?” she replied slyly.

“Hardly.” Setzer folded his arms over his chest. “I just don't need the mental image.”

“I won't kiss and tell,” she promised, emphatically clasping her hand over her heart. Locke hadn't been a bad lover; he was gentle and attentive, always concerned with her pleasure, but she never felt like she could ask him for anything even slightly out of the ordinary. As time passed, their lovemaking became almost perfunctory - his early fervor was based in hope for a pregnancy that he now knew was impossible, and hers the desire to prove to him that she could offer something Rachel didn't, but ultimately wasn't what he wanted most. By the time Celes made the decision to end their relationship, she had lost track of the last time she and Locke had done more than kiss.

“Appreciate that,” Setzer said, “But seriously, is something the matter? Traumatic flower girl experience bringing back bad memories?” He smiled, gently ribbing her to break through the armor that he still faced from time to time.

Celes smiled and leaned against the tool chest. “This might sound weird to you, but I’ve never been to a wedding, only experienced them peripherally. I didn't even know that people had weddings and such until General Leo told me that he was thinking of marrying the daughter of a wealthy family in South Figaro,” she said with a sad smile. “He explained proposals and ceremonies and bloodlines and such to me.” _Poor Leo, always getting stuck teaching the Vector girls about love._ "My caretakers and later the commanders in the military didn't think it was particularly important to tell me about family ties and romance, considering I was barely a teenager when I started training to be a rune knight.”

Setzer raised an eyebrow incredulously, his slim fingers idly rolling a bolt up and down the threads of a screw. “I suppose Vector wasn't the most idyllic place for a girl to grow up, but what about your parents?” He had always assumed she was from a parentless military upbringing, but had never asked for specifics about her childhood.

“If they were ever a part of my life after I was born, I was too young to remember them. I once asked Cid, but he said my birth records were incinerated during an accident,” Celes replied with a sigh. “There’s a fifty-fifty chance he was telling the truth.”

“Good old Empire, lying through their teeth to achieve their goals,” Setzer shook his head, his disappointment evident. 

She shook her head. “I don't think Cid had malicious intent. If he was hiding something from me, it was because he thought it was for my own good. Anyhow, it doesn't matter anymore - Vector’s gone forever, as is Cid.”

“Right,” Setzer nodded. “I'm sorry,” he added quickly, “please continue.”

Celes turned towards the tool box, busying her hands with its contents. “I can't imagine the Empire had any interest in charity for little girls off the street, so I assume either my parents were military elite who were killed in action, or - more likely - I was the illegitimate child of someone important.” She didn't tell Setzer, but there had been a time or two, especially after the subjugation of Maranda, that she’d studied Kefka’s painted face at length. Celes had tried to remember what he looked like under the makeup and compared his slim, pale features to her own. Her stomach turned at the memory of sitting alone in her barracks wondering if killing was simply part of her blood.

“I see,” Setzer now understood why she never brought this up. While his relationship with his own parents had been distant at its best, he at least knew who they were. “Cid was some semblance of a father figure to you, wasn't he?”

“He always looked out for me, but in the end, Cid was a bachelor his whole life, and he was never particularly comfortable with me as a woman.”

“What do you mean?”

“For example...my body started changing right around the same time I had begun the treatments under his supervision. I saw the blood and thought Shiva was angry and trying to kill me...while Cid assured me it was safe, I'd heard horror stories of what happened to people who didn't survive the infusions. I ran to Cid, confused and hysterical; he said nothing, just turned me over to a medic who had to calm me down and explain what was happening.” Celes shook her head at the memory. While Shiva hadn't been the cause of that particular physical change, she sometimes wondered if her infertility was something that Shiva had consciously induced in retribution for taking the Esper’s own life force. Celes promptly changed the subject before she could delve deeper into the dark corners of her past and further concern Setzer with her silence. “I assume Jidoor was very much into the pomp and circumstance of marriage. Seems like a great way to show off your money and status.”

Setzer nodded, noting the abrupt topic shift. “Weddings in Jidoor are always a great spectacle, at least amongst the wealthy,” he said, “They love any reason to throw a party, really. There were people who used to come and gamble and drink on the Blackjack, meet someone, marry them a week later, and within a year they would be repeating the process with a new partner; proclaiming this was “the one” every time.” 

“Did you want to get married?” Celes took Setzer’s hand, which was as dirty and grease-smudged as her own, and sat down next to him. He put his arm around her shoulders and she accepted his embrace. “I know you and Darill didn't get the chance to have that conversation, but you planned to marry Maria, right?“

His expression darkened slightly. “I suppose,” he replied. “I don't know exactly what I was thinking, to be honest - Maria and I had a lot of chemistry, but in hindsight, I'm glad I kidnapped you instead.” He kissed Celes on the forehead. She smelled delightful, the floral notes of soap hidden beneath smoke and sweat, a combination that still turned him on to this day. “I was absurdly attracted to her, and she was well above me in social rank. I figured it was the only way we could be together without all of the trappings of her status.” Setzer glanced at Celes. “Is this your way of asking me to marry you?”

Celes smiled and kissed him gently. “No, we're just talking, don't worry.” She looked down at the hardware that she still held in her hand and set it on the ground next to her feet. Setzer watched her quietly as she arranged her thoughts in her head. 

“I know that expression,” he said, “there's something you want to tell me, but you don't trust that I’ll accept it.” The corner of her mouth turned up, and he congratulated himself on his ability to read her. “Look, I want you to feel like you can speak what’s on your mind, love. I am a master of reading poker faces, after all. It drives me mad to constantly wonder what's going on in your head.”

Celes stared for a moment at the dirt beneath her fingernails. “Do you think…” she swallowed, choosing her words carefully, “it's possible to love more than one person at the same time?” She focused on her hands, not his handsome lined face, as she spoke.

Setzer was silent for a moment, avoiding an ill-prepared response. He was too familiar with the heady rush of a new relationship and remembered how easy it was to mistake chemical attraction for love. Setzer also knew that he couldn't callously assume his feelings and Celes’s were the same. “I think anything is possible,” Setzer finally said. “You're talking about Edgar, yes?”

She affirmed his statement with a small nod. “I don't know if it's love, to be honest - what I feel for him isn't the same as what I feel for you, but it's more than just physical attraction.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Celes, but I think you need to stop looking for labels, because this doesn't fit into any traditional boxes. The Jidoor elite were a great income source that also drove me insane, because as much as they loved their debauchery, they also loved to judge each other for anything they deemed out of the ordinary. Living there as we do, you've learned that as well. It's one of the reasons Darill and I took to the skies - she couldn't take their bullshit any more than I could. Case in point: she was fucking brilliant, smarter than me by far, but some people actually told her she shouldn't work on ships because engineering wasn't a woman’s job.”

“That's definitely bullshit,” Celes agreed, her nose wrinkled with disappointment. 

“She wanted to build a flying machine, you want to be with two men at the same time, both things that narrow-minded people think are dangerous or immoral. On the other hand, I find them both dead sexy, so as far as I'm concerned, you're wonderful.” Setzer cupped Celes’s chin in his hand and guided her lips to his for a long kiss.

Celes kissed Setzer back, and as she did she considered his statement for a moment. Perhaps his point was valid, and her limited experience was showing, but she wasn't convinced that her feelings weren't more than lust. Maybe she was jumping the gun by labeling her emotions before fully exploring them, though. “It's hard to break free of a lifetime of titles and performance expectations,” she admitted. “You were the first person I ever slept with that I hadn't already convinced myself that I loved.” _You're also the only person I’ve slept with that two years later, I still can't imagine being without._

“And look where we are now,” Setzer grinned. “Sometimes what you think is wrong turns out to be right, as a wise woman once said. Other times, an orgasm is just an orgasm, no matter how mind blowing it is.” He toyed with the end of her ponytail as he thought aloud. “Listen, we’ve got all the time in the world. We all know each other's stance. Let's see how things are after this weekend. If you feel like it's love, then we’ll figure out what to do with that. If it's really just friends with benefits and you want to have sex with just him, or have him watch you and me together, hell, if I want him to fuck me - whatever the three of us decide, we’ll make it work. In blackjack, there are a number of different ways to get to twenty-one, and all of them are a winner.”

“You want him to…?” Celes squeaked, her eyes wide. Her mind’s eye helpfully created an illustrative visual, and she shifted against the floor and took a steadying breath.

“I'm keeping my options open,” Setzer’s tone was mischievous, and her reaction didn't escape him. “Would you be okay with that?” There was a first time for everything, he supposed. The idea seemed to intrigue Celes, and anal play had certainly been pleasant enough when he and Darill had experimented. 

“I…” She certainly hadn't expected Setzer to suggest that, but if he was willing to indulge her interests, she couldn't dismiss his outright. “I don't think I want anything...back there...but if you think it feels good and you want to try it, then it's fine with me.”

“We’ve all got limits, and you know I would never force you to do anything you didn't consent to,” Setzer nodded, “but I'm glad you're so open to experimentation.” He sighed and leaned back against the wall. “Now you've got me thinking about Edgar, too. I swear, if the two of you sneak downstairs tomorrow while I'm flying this ship over deep water, I'm going to be extraordinarily disappointed.”

“Unlikely, since we’d have to be fast and quiet to keep Terra and Locke in the dark, and I don't plan on being either of those. But as long as you two don't wander off while Relm and Terra play dress-up with me,” Celes shot back, “I promise to keep my hands to myself on the ship.” She extended her hand, and Setzer shook it in a pseudo-formal manner. 

“So, I told you about my mysterious lineage - your turn.” She paused, and after a moment added, “unless it's a story you don't tell?”

“Oh, I can, it's just not terribly interesting,” Setzer shrugged. He stood up and fished in his pocket for a cigarette, lighting it and taking a long drag, then exhaling a smoky sigh. “My mother was a performer in a theater troupe, my father a traveling merchant.”

“Were they married?”

“God, no. From the way my mother talked about my father, staying together wasn't even an option. I was raised by the troupe, which is where I learned to appreciate song and dance - and beauty in its various forms, for that matter. My father wandered through Jidoor once when I was a teenager, and I remember his girlfriend better than I recall him.” Setzer flicked his lighter a few times, recalling the memory of his father with a woman barely older than Setzer himself. “Neither of my parents were particularly interested in raising a child; I was the consequence of carelessness, which is the main reason why I was so cautious with you before you told me about your circumstances.”

“Does Edgar know about me?” Celes wondered offhandedly. She hoped he didn't, but at the same time, it would save her the trouble.

Setzer shook his head. “I'll say something if you want me to, but it's your story to tell,” he replied.

“Thank you,” Celes pulled herself up to a standing position and stood behind Setzer, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind and resting her chin on his shoulder. She pushed his hair back from his face and kissed along the edge of his ear, her fingers gently stroking his exposed collarbone, the way she had watched him kiss Edgar when they were together. 

“For what?” Her warm lips and feathery touch tingled pleasantly on his skin, and he could feel blood rushing to his dick in response. “You already know I can keep a secret.”

“Loving me,” she murmured in his ear, flicking her tongue out to taste the salt on his skin, “Helping me believe that I don't have to make myself into what someone else wants, that who I am is good enough.”

“Not just good enough,” he said, kissing her knuckles, “exactly right. You're the first woman I've known since Darill who doesn't give a shit who my family is or what assets I have...save for our initial meeting, when all you wanted was my airship, but I think we've both moved past that.” Setzer thought for a moment. “Well, Terra never had an agenda with me either, but she's not my type at all,” he added with a grin. “She’s far too innocent. You, on the other hand, never fooled me with blushing and nervous laughter, my dear.”

Celes let her hands rest on his belt for a moment, then tugged his shirt tails out from the waistband of his pants. Her fingertips traced along his stomach and followed the trail of dark hair that extended from his groin to his belly button. “In that case, do you want to hear about something that I've been thinking about lately?”

“Does it involve our favorite King of Figaro?”

“And you, of course,” Celes didn't know where this surge of confidence was coming from, but she wasn't about to stop, not with how obviously arousing it was to Setzer. She thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being powerful and seductive. “Edgar loves to get his dick sucked, right? Does he like to give as much as he likes to receive?”

“It certainly seems that way, from my experience,” Setzer swallowed as her roaming hands found his nipples, coaxing them into peaks. He could feel the curves of her body pressing against him through her work clothes, and he wanted nothing more than to fuck her against the side of the Falcon, but he let her continue. “You should ask him yourself, though.”

“I will,” Celes murmured, rolling Setzer’s nipple piercing between her fingertips, pressing his soft skin against the metal bar hard enough to elicit a gasp. “If he does...and I bet he does...I want to watch him swallow your dick while I'm riding him,” her voice was barely a whisper at this point, and she rolled Setzer’s other nipple firmly. He bit his lip and grunted, “fuck me, woman” under his breath. 

“You're filthy,” Celes responded as she opened the last of his shirt buttons. 

“I’d place that honor on you, love,” Setzer replied, “unless you mean literally covered in grime, in which case I agree.” He turned around, taking her by the hand, “would you care to join me in the shower?” His pale face was flushed and he was completely hard.

Celes nodded and followed Setzer back into the living quarters, keeping stride with his quick pace. She was glad that she had been holding out, because while it was fun to fool around in the narrow shower stall, the hot water never lasted for long on the ship. As he walked, Setzer shed his unbuttoned shirt and jerked his belt out of his pants. He paused at the door of the bedroom, briefly considering the bed before deciding against it, and pressed Celes against the wall for a searing kiss, pinning her hands above her head. Their lips disengaged, and he held her hands in place and watched her expression as he unzipped her tunic with his free hand, slipping it from her shoulders to her waist. Setzer ran his hand from her waist to her breast, teasing her nipple through her white undershirt. 

Celes’s eyes went dark and she squirmed playfully against his grasp. “You know I'm stronger than you. I could have you on the floor in a second.”

“Oh, I'm aware, and I love that about you. I also know that while you're used to being a leader, you also like to relinquish control,” he responded, his light touch turning to a firm pinch. “Don't think I missed the look in your eyes when Edgar overpowered you. Watching you two was an educational change in perspective.” She swallowed, her chest rising and falling heavily under his hand. His retelling of the scene in their living room was kindling to the fire between her legs; no other man she had ever known could take her apart with words like Setzer.

“You know what I'd like to do with our royal companion?” Setzer met her unblinking gaze. “I want him to hold you in those big, strong arms of his. He can spread you open for me while I bring you to the edge, and you'll have to beg us both to make you come,” he said, dropping her hands and crushing his lips against hers, his cock pushing insistently into her hip.

“I hope that's a promise too,” Celes gasped, grasping Setzer’s hand and pulling him towards the shower. “I'm done with fantasizing for the moment, though.”

“Agreed,” Setzer removed his boots while Celes peeled off her work clothes, and he barely had time to finish undressing before she dragged him under the falling water. He pulled the tie from his hair, she shook hers free, and they took turns washing the sweat and dirt away before Setzer took Celes in his arms, water rolling over her back and shoulders and between their bodies. 

His hand slipped between her legs and she shuddered, his fingers going exactly where she needed them most. She grasped his cock in turn with her still-soapy hand, stroking along his shaft and applying gentle pressure to the head at the end of every pass. 

Setzer used the wall of the shower for support, pressing into her as he increased his pace, warm water and her wetness dripping down his hand as he worked her clit until her back arched and she pleaded for release. Moments later Celes bucked against him, moaning loudly into his shoulder as she came. He relaxed his stance and allowed her full access to his body, but instead of pulling back, she wrapped her free arm around him and cupped his ass in her hand while she continued to work his cock. 

Celes thought back to their earlier conversation, and she slid her finger along the crack of his ass. “Have you…” she started, “ever tried this before?” She could feel a blush rising up her neck, and hoped that the heat of the water and humid air would provide cover. 

“Not for a long time,” Setzer replied, closing his eyes and losing himself in the sensation of warm rivulets of water on his face and Celes’s hands on his body. Her right hand stroked his dick with confidence while her left explored tentatively by comparison, and he relaxed into her touch, his cheek against her shoulder. “Don't let that stop you, love.” Her fingers slid into his cleft and he squeezed her arm. “Soap your hand up first, though. Water alone makes terrible lube.”

Celes pushed her wet hair from her face and kissed the top of Setzer’s head before filling her hand with lather. Setzer guided her other hand back to his heavy erection while she dipped her index finger into the crack of his ass and pressed it against his asshole, the lubrication of the soap and his relaxed nature allowing her more access than she had expected.

“Fuck,” Setzer groaned, “fuck me, I forgot how good this feels,” he muttered into her neck, and he held her right hand, pumping it vigorously over his cock, his spare hand wrapped around Celes’s back for support.

Celes hadn't felt unsure of herself sexually for some time, but she figured Setzer would let her know right away if she was hurting him. She ran her finger around the rim of his hole as he thrust his prick into her fist, and she experimentally pushed her finger inside up to her first knuckle. 

“Celes,” he groaned at the intrusion and clenched every muscle in his body, spilling his orgasm over her hand, digging his nails into the small of her back until he was completely spent.

“Was that okay?” She switched places with Setzer under the cooling stream of water, allowing him to wash the soap off before the hot water completely ran out.

“More than okay. You made me feel like I was 21 again,” he chuckled, turning the water off with a twist of the knob. Setzer handed Celes a towel and kissed her lips, shaking his head. “I have to say, you seemed hopelessly conservative when we first met,” he commented as he wrapped the towel around his waist. “You know, missionary, minimal foreplay, lights off.”

Celes wrung her hair out into the shower drain and admired the hot flush spread over her lover’s upper body. “I was that person at one point,” she said. “I was already a general when we met, but in some ways I was still a teenage girl.”

“Well, I'm glad I ended up with the woman and not the girl,” Setzer said. He stepped over the pile of their work clothes on the bathroom floor, gathering them before opening the door. Cold air flooded in, and Celes involuntarily yelped. 

“Close that door before I freeze to death,” she ordered, and Setzer laughed, sliding the panel shut behind him. “Dammit, times like this I wish I still had Shiva around, I swear!” Celes called through the door.

“I'm going to head down to the bay and clean up,” Setzer casually replied. “See if we have anything left to eat, otherwise we’ll head back into town before leaving for Figaro, deal?”

Celes wiped the steam off of the tiny mirror and smiled at her reflection. “Deal.”

Later that night, Celes lay in the crook of Setzer’s arm and thought briefly of the uneasy memories she’d unearthed earlier in the day. _Vector was the past,_ she reasoned. _Cid, Shiva, Kefka, Locke...the sum of all of their influence, good and bad, is why I'm the person I am today. But my ties to them are history, and I can't be held back by history._ The world was at peace and she was loved. She had work that she liked, true friends (including one that was something more than just friends) and a few different places to call home. 

“Suppose I really should just let things be,” she whispered to herself.

Setzer murmured sleepily. “Hm?”

“Nothing. I love you,” Celes replied, kissing him softly.

“Love you too,” he said, and Celes rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone in RPGs have a boring nuclear family? I'm gonna say probably not.
> 
> This started out as one chapter with the previous Edgar and Sabin installment, but it ended up making sense to split them up. Also, Celes's infertility is discussed in "the course not charted" if that's of interest. 
> 
> Thamasa is threesome ground zero! Thanks for reading :D


	7. two princes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you have to fly halfway around the world to finish what you started at home.
> 
> Celes/Edgar/Setzer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One, two, princes kneel before you  
> That's what I said, now  
> Princes, Princes who adore you  
> Just go ahead, now  
> One has diamonds in his pockets  
> That's some bread, now  
> This one, he wants to buy you rockets  
> Ain't in his head, now
> 
> "Two Princes" - Spin Doctors
> 
> (this song has been trying to weasel its way into this fic since its inception and this chapter was too perfect to not to use it)

Early the next morning, Setzer plotted their course and Celes packed the last of the cargo that they were hauling across the world. This was a trip for pleasure, but no reason to not make a little money in the process, they reasoned. The artists in Thamasa relished the chance to work with non-native media, and the Jidoor auction house was always keen on items from the remote former city of mages. The Falcon would return with the cargo hold as full as it left, and Celes decided that they weren't going back either until she they were completely satisfied with their personal and professional returns.

The journey from Jidoor to Thamasa passed directly by Figaro Castle and Mobliz, so the logical thing to do was offer their friends a lift to the remote island. Sea travel had become more common as the world rebuilt, but the ferry that shuttled people and goods between Thamasa, Mobliz, and Albrook had a four-week cycle between destinations. Even fully loaded, the Falcon would be in Thamasa by early evening.

When they arrived at Figaro, Edgar was waiting outside on the roof. He signaled for them to land with the mirror system he and Setzer designed, and Setzer brought the ship down near the east side of the castle. Celes watched Edgar pull himself up the rope ladder a few moments later, a small pack slung over his shoulder.

“You're traveling light,” Setzer noted.

“Didn't figure I'd need my royal finery for this excursion.” Edgar raised an eyebrow at Setzer and smiled slyly at Celes. “Maybe I’m traveling optimistic.”

Her stomach did a backflip at the promise inherent in his smile, and she caught her lower lip between her teeth. “It's good to see you,” she responded. “Sorry I wasn't in better spirits last time.”

“Not your fault, just bad timing,” Edgar said, and glanced over her shoulder. Setzer sighed plaintively and leaned over the steering column, drumming his fingers impatiently.

“Oh, for heaven's sakes, if you're not going to kiss her, don't keep me waiting.”

“If you insist,” Edgar took a step towards Setzer, and Celes grasped Edgar’s hand in her own, stopping him in his tracks and guiding him in her direction.

“Missed you,” Celes said quietly, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

He needed no more encouragement, bending down to kiss her as she stretched on her toes to meet him. Edgar’s lips were warm and inviting, and Celes breathed in his still-exotic scent, linking her arms around his neck. This was going to be the longest journey to Thamasa she’d ever taken.

“It's good to see you too,” he replied when she broke the kiss off. The last few times they had kissed, he had sensed lust and yearning; this was different, and he was hesitant to classify the change in her demeanor. He kissed Celes again lightly, then made his way over to Setzer. The other man’s mouth quirked slightly and Edgar took that as his invitation, leaning in and kissing Setzer, one hand on his shoulder and the other resting in the curve of Setzer’s back.

“I missed your smart mouth too,” Setzer said, and then reluctantly shrugged himself free from Edgar’s embrace. “As much as I'd love to dock this ship and have you both right here, right now, I think we’d probably attract some attention. Which I personally have no issue with, but I’m sure it goes against royal discretion.”

Edgar quickly checked over his shoulder, desire having trumped his better judgment when he’d kissed Celes and Setzer on the deck. Fortunately, most of the castle staff worked inside during the middle of the day - autumn in the desert didn't provide much of a reprieve from the heat and sunshine. “We should get going, you're right. If we wait much longer someone's going to find me out here and try to get me to sign something.”

Celes pulled up the ladder from the side of the ship, and she could feel Edgar’s eyes on her when she bent over to grab the last couple of rungs. This was hardly the first time he had stared at her with intent, but it felt different now that the three of them were fully aware of their mutual desire. The sooner they got to Thamasa, the sooner she could resolve this tension.

“Stow your pack and let’s head out,” Celes said. “Don't want to keep Terra and Locke waiting.” _Or anyone else on board this ship, for that matter._

# # #

The desert sun gave way to the cool ocean breeze as they picked up speed across the Serpent Island on the way to Mobliz. Celes was happy for the airborne equivalent of a cold shower, and by the time they touched down at the far eastern end of the island, she had refocused her thoughts from the tension between Setzer, Edgar and herself to Terra and Locke and also how happy she was to be seeing Relm and Strago tomorrow.

As the airship descended to the ground, Edgar waved at the children that came running out of their houses.

“Seems like there are more every time we visit,” he said to Celes as she approached him on the deck, reaching for her hand and rubbing his thumb along the lines on her palm. Her hands were soft and small in his, a direct contrast to the power that lay within her.

“Yeah, I suppose for every couple like Setzer and me, there’s a Duane and Katarin in the world,” she responded with a chuckle, and Edgar raised an eyebrow. She was alluding to something, and he cursed their timing, but filed the information for later when they had more time to talk. “Slide over a little so I can get the ladder ready.”

He watched her as she fastened the ladder to the posts, and quickly stepped in to help her hoist the heavy ladder over the edge of the ship. “Thanks,” Celes grinned, and made the slightest start towards him but pulled back suddenly. Edgar looked away and created extra distance between them - obviously he had the same reaction upon realizing they had an audience.

“Celes, Edgar!” Locke’s voice rang out as he approached the Falcon. “Hey, you guys made great time - Terra is just finishing up a couple of things at the house and we’ll be ready to head out.”

Edgar climbed down the rope ladder and landed on the ground with a thump. He grasped Locke’s hand and hugged him, slapping him on the back.

“Holy crap, man, have you been training with Sabin?” Locke rubbed his shoulder and furrowed his brow. “I don't do much lifting anymore, other than what I find when I'm out treasure-hunting.”

“Not true, uncle Locke,” a small boy appeared from behind Locke’s legs, “you lift me and Gideon on your shoulders all the time!”

“Ha, you want a real shoulder ride, come on up here,” Edgar replied, and Locke grinned.

“Go on, Mikhael, you remember King Edgar, right? We went to a big party at his house a little while ago.” Locke patted the boy on the head and Edgar crouched down. Mikhael nodded and climbed up on Edgar’s shoulders, peering out over the cluster of homes at the edge of the tree line.

“I can see forever! Way farther than before,” he said, “I can almost see your castle, King Edgar.”

“Good eyes, kiddo,” Edgar grinned, holding tight to the small legs draped over his shoulders. He felt small hands grasping his hair, steadying the small form perched atop him.

Celes descended the ladder with Setzer right behind. “Locke,” she said, and he embraced her and kissed her on the cheek. She still felt a touch of pride when she could be affectionate with him and feel neither attraction nor sadness; it had taken some time for that change to occur. “Thank you again for asking us to be a part of your wedding,” she added.

“Edgar’s one of my oldest friends, and Terra thinks of you like a sister,” he replied, “it was the obvious thing to do.”

“How about me?” Setzer drawled from his stance by the Falcon.

“Someone's gotta fly the love boat, right?” Edgar laughed, and Setzer shook his head with a smile. “C’mon Mikhael, Locke, let's go see where Terra’s at.”

Mikhael released a handful of Edgar’s hair and pointed at Locke and Terra’s house. “Auntie Terra lives in that house,” he instructed.

“We’ll be right back,” Locke said, and he and Edgar, with Mikhael still in tow, headed down the paved path into the town.

Setzer lit a cigarette after the children disappeared with the two men in tow. “He seems really happy here. I think he likes having someone to take care of.”

“Yeah,” Celes said, watching Edgar’s retreating form. “He’ll be a great dad.” Both of them, she thought to herself.

“It's not something I could ever see myself doing,” Setzer continued, tapping away the ash from his cigarette, “the older I get, the more I'm sure of that.”

“I hope you're not assuming I'm overcome with maternal regret and need reassurance,” Celes cocked her head and peered at Setzer suspiciously.

Setzer ground out his cigarette and picked up the butt, not wanting to leave it on the ground where the kids would find it. “No, I'm pretty sure Darill and I would have come to that conclusion as well, had we reached that point in our relationship,” he sighed. “You needn't worry that I'm patronizing you, Celes. If I felt like my life would be incomplete without becoming a father, I would have ended our relationship, as you did with Locke.”

Celes nodded and took Setzer’s hand. “I didn't think you were patronizing me.” She thought for a moment. “We could get a cat if we ever want something to take care of. I hear Edgar has a friend in Jidoor who could hook us up.”

Setzer laughed and kissed Celes’s forehead. “Your wit is as sharp as your sword.” He wrapped his arm over her shoulder and she tucked herself underneath his arm, waiting like that until Locke and Edgar returned with Terra. Edgar carried Terra and Locke’s luggage, and Terra ran up to Celes, who disengaged from Setzer to give Terra a hug.

“It's been way too long,” Terra’s face lit up, the sun catching the pale green in her cropped hair as she looked upwards at Celes. “I'm glad we could all make this trip together.”

“Me too,” Celes said, taking Terra’s hands in her own and smiling brightly. “Kids okay? You guys all ready to head out?”

“Yup, they're great,” Terra replied, and leaned in conspiratorially, her voice dropping to a whisper, “I'm ready for a little time away from being Mama and Auntie, though. Do you think you and Setzer can distract Edgar either tonight or tomorrow evening so that Locke and I can sneak off?”

Celes almost burst out laughing but quickly swallowed her response and nodded vigorously, “I don't think that will be a problem at all.” She had been wondering how they were going to politely excuse themselves from the group, but Terra just made that a moot point.

“Perfect,” Terra grinned at Celes and turned back towards the men. “Let's go, Locke. We can catch up with everyone on the ship.”

The Falcon took to the skies with the five friends on board. Edgar and Locke joined Setzer by the steering column, and Celes joined Terra at her favorite spot, right at the nose of the ship. Celes tied her hair into a haphazard knot, and Terra wrapped a familiar rolled bandanna around her head to hold her long bangs out of her face.

“It's still a little strange to see your hair so short,” Celes noted, “but I'm getting used to it.”

“You know,” Terra stared out into the clouds, “when we were young, I wanted long hair because you had long hair.”

Celes blinked, “Really?” She had never imagined Terra could derive motivation from her. If anything, watching Terra effortlessly use magic had inspired Celes to train harder and push her magical limits farther than ever.

“You were allowed to be with the others,” she said, leaning into the wind. Setzer was flying at a slightly slower speed and lower altitude than normal. She reminded herself to thank him for that, as this was the only way she had to relive the feeling of weightless freedom she had when she could soar through the air on her own. “Kefka and Gestahl kept me to themselves, especially as I got older. I used to watch you running drills with the soldiers in the yard, and I thought for some reason that if I looked more like you, then maybe I could be with people and have friends like you. ”

Celes felt a pang of sadness, remembering how jealous she was of Terra and her innate power. She had wished to be like Terra after seeing the Emperor trot her around just out of reach, living in an ivory tower away from the crowded barracks that Celes called home. Of course, Celes didn't know the circumstances at the time: the slave crown, the memory and identity loss, and Kefka’s control over Terra’s mind and body. She would never wish those things on anyone, but to her young, competitive mind it was simply favoritism and exclusion. “I wasn't really friends with most of those guys, for what it's worth,” she said balefully.

“Whatever they actually were, it seemed better than being alone all the time with Kefka, though.” She smiled at Celes and squeezed her shoulder. “I guess the grass is always greener on the other side, as they say. Anyway, I didn't mean to be depressing,” Terra gently reprimanded herself.

“You're not depressing me. It's actually nice to hear this story, in a weird way - seems like you're remembering more every time we talk,” Celes commented.

Terra nodded pensively. “It's strange, you know. I don't have a lot of free time with all of the children around, but I'm not afraid to search for the memories I lost. I know they're in my head somewhere. And if I do start to worry or feel unsure, Locke is there for me, or I meditate. Sabin taught me how, and it's really soothing. I usually uncover at least one new memory if I get an hour or so to myself.”

 _Another thing she does effortlessly that I can't master as hard as I try._ Celes felt a pang of envy but didn't allow herself to hold onto it. “I hope you remember more good things than bad,” she said, squeezing Terra’s hand in her own. There were things about Vector that Celes wished she could forget for good, and she hoped that her friend would never have to relive her version of those memories. “I'm glad we survived it all, and came out on top, it seems.”

“Yes, I can't say I ever imagined this is how I would be spending my twenties, but I'm not disappointed,” Terra agreed.

“Considering I had moments when I didn't think we’d live to see twenty, I definitely agree.” Celes watched Terra turn her left hand in the sunlight, the stone in her ring brilliantly sparkling. “It feels good to be wanted for something besides fighting ability, even though it means I've had to do some soul searching to figure out who I am other than a soldier.”

“I agree. I think that's why I love the children and Locke so much - they've become my purpose,” Terra smiled down at her ring. “Locke’s so excited about our wedding, it's hard to not catch his enthusiasm. I don't understand some of the traditions and I'm not sure about being the center of attention, but I can't argue with a new dress and a chance to have all our friends together in one place for a party, and of course I’m excited to be Locke’s wife. It's such a normal thing to do, and yet it's not anything I'd ever dreamed that I'd be doing.”

Celes nodded. She understood what Terra was saying on a logical level, but as hard as she tried, she couldn't apply it to herself. She was halfway through formulating a response when she heard someone approaching behind them, and she knew it was Edgar by stature and scent before she turned around to see him.

“Hey, Terra,” Edgar squeezed himself between Terra and Celes, an arm over each of their shoulders. “Locke says you've got the final say on what we wear at this shindig,” he said, borrowing Sabin’s terminology. “So, you're not going to make me wear a dress, right?”

Terra sputtered and Celes coughed and stared up at Edgar, wide-eyed. “Is the tradition in Kohlingen for the men to wear dresses too?”

“I asked Locke,” Edgar said, “and he told me dresses were a requirement for all witnesses, but the bride can grant an exception to the rule. I feel like he's full of crap, but seeing as you've got veto power, I thought I'd ask you.”

“Oh,” Terra replied, her face turning pink, “he never said anything to me about men wearing dresses. But in that case,” she thought aloud, “Locke wants the wedding to be as traditional as possible…so maybe you should go along with it.”

Edgar held Terra’s small hand in his own and kissed the top lightly. “I would distract everyone from your loveliness if I wore a dress to your wedding,” he said gallantly, “and your wedding day is yours.”

“Because you’d be prettier than the bride, is that it?” Celes laughed, elbowing Edgar in the ribs.

“Hardly. I'd be an eyesore, a distraction. In a well-made suit, on the other hand, I might cause the bride to get cold feet.”

Terra shook her head, but she was snickering quietly. “So you're saying I should have you wear the dress after all, to avoid being swept off my feet when I see you?”

“You're not getting out of this, Edgar,” Celes slid her arm around Edgar’s waist and playfully hugged him. “Might as well shave your legs and your face tomorrow morning.”

Edgar looked back over his shoulder at Locke and Setzer, who were oblivious to the conversation at hand. “I'm sure he'll reconsider,” he said to himself, shaking his head.

# # #

The sun was beginning to set over Ebot’s Rock when the Falcon touched down in Thamasa. Dusk and dawn were striking on the southerly island; one visit and it was clear why the artists produced such beautiful work. Terra and Celes were the first ones off the ship, Locke following with the luggage and Edgar assisting Setzer with anchoring and securing the airship.

“The Falcon runs better than last time I was aboard,” Edgar noted, and Setzer motioned at Celes, who appeared to be good-naturedly arguing with Locke over which one of them should carry her bag.

“We put in a new stabilization unit just yesterday,” Setzer said, powering the turbines down while Edgar locked the hatch to the living quarters. “Celes is pretty handy with the ship these days.”

“She's pretty handy in a lot of ways,” Edgar replied.

“Touché. She is my girlfriend, you know. I should be more upset by your crass commentary.”

“You know I'm kidding. She's more than a pretty face to me, too, even if I'm not fortunate enough to call her my girlfriend,” Edgar rejoined Setzer at the ladder and followed him down to the ground where they rejoined the others.

“It's getting dark,” Locke said, “we should head to the inn. I'm starving now that we're finally on solid ground.”

Celes nodded and took a deep breath, the humidity a nice change from the thin dry atmosphere in flight. “We can come back for the cargo tomorrow - all the shops and the guild headquarters are about to close anyway. The sidewalks roll up here when the sun goes down.”

The group kept a brisk pace, Terra and Locke leading the way with Celes bringing up the rear, flanked by Edgar and Setzer. She glanced at Setzer, who was greedily smoking his first cigarette since they had left Mobliz, and then at Edgar, whose hands were shoved in his pockets.

She sensed in that moment that the men were as anxious to be alone as she was. Celes felt a pang of guilt; they had just landed in Thamasa and they were already trying to skip out on their friends.

“Don't feel guilty,” Setzer took a long drag on his cigarette. “You're going to be playing dress-up with them all day tomorrow. Tonight is ours,” he murmured.

She didn't ask him if his comments were directed towards herself or Edgar, and it didn't particularly matter. They approached the combined pub and inn, busy as expected during the dinner rush. Locke and Celes approached the front desk while Edgar and Setzer made a beeline for the bar with Terra in tow.

Celes spoke to the innkeeper for a few moments while Locke stood behind her. She turned around, wondering if he had been eavesdropping. “Locke,” Celes said softly, and he looked up from his thoughts. “Did you have a reservation?”

“We did, he replied, “is something wrong with your room?”

Celes shook her head. “It's been so busy, I forgot to send a pigeon,” she replied, sighing with defeat. “They're sold out tonight and tomorrow.”

“Damn…” Locke scratched his head, “there's not another inn on this whole rock, either. Maybe there's a way-”

“Miss,” the innkeeper chimed in, “if you two would be amenable to staying a bit outside of town, my sister rents a guest house near the water that happens to be free for the weekend.”

“Oh, I think that would be perfect,” Celes replied, clasping her hands together. She was careful to not overdo her charade; Locke knew her too well. “Let me tell my companions about the change in plans. Why don't you take care of him in the meantime, we’ve all had a long journey from the east today.” She motioned to Locke, who raised his eyebrow slightly at her reference to Setzer, Edgar and the entire situation, but wordlessly took Celes’s place at the desk.

Edgar held a double whiskey neat in one hand and Terra’s shoulder in the other, and he took a sip of his drink as Celes approached. “You all checked in? Did you take care of my room too?” Not that he planned on spending much time there, but no reason to let on to that.

“Ah,” Celes smiled sheepishly, “I forgot in all the excitement last week to make reservations.”

Terra’s expression went from rosy and cheerful to disappointed. “Oh no. The Falcon’s so small…but maybe Edgar can stay with us. It'll be like the old days.” Celes recognized that Terra was trying to make the best out of the situation, but she knew that Terra wanted to have time alone with Locke as much as Celes wanted to be with her men.

“I appreciate the thought, but I know how little time you two get to yourselves with the kids in the house,” Celes replied earnestly, “The innkeeper has a guest house that he's willing to rent to us, and it has two bedrooms. It's a little ways away from town, but that just means we’ll have to wake up a little earlier tomorrow.”

“Early to bed, early to rise,” Setzer said over his drink, a devious grin spreading across his face, and Celes caught a glimpse of the three empty shot glasses behind them. “Perhaps Edgar will have time to get a workout in before the fashion show.”

“Perhaps you should join me,” Edgar mocked Setzer over the top of Terra’s head.

Terra giggled. “Get a room, you two. I guess Celes will be the one sleeping alone tonight, am I right?”

 _Not if I have anything to say about it,_ Celes thought, but laughed at Terra’s joke nonetheless.

“Are you three drunk already?” Locke shook his head, joining the group and eyeing the bar behind them. “Seriously, are you doing shots with my fiancé without even inviting me?”

“She's much prettier than you are, Locke,” Edgar rationalized, lifting his arm from Terra’s shoulders and making room for Locke between them at the bar. “So’s Setzer. Sorry, my friend, you know how it goes.”

Setzer motioned to the bartender, who brought out five new glasses, filling them with liquor. He passed a handful of gil over the bar and handed the full glasses to his companions.

“To the past, present, and future,” Setzer toasted, raising his shot glass. “To life.” The five friends raised their glasses in a circle. Edgar watched a trickle of liquor spill from Setzer’s overfilled glass and suppressed the urge to suck it from his fingers.

Celes closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She hated taking shots but didn't see a good way out of this one, and the liquid courage would probably help her in the long run. In one swallow, she downed the contents of the glass, and immediately felt the warmth spreading through her body.

She excused herself to go speak with the innkeeper, and Setzer pulled her aside to whisper in her ear.

“You're fucking brilliant, my dear. Double whatever you paid him. I'm going to finish this drink and see if we can get some dinner to take with us, although I for one want to start with dessert.” He spoke in the low voice that never failed to ignite her libido like a torch.

“I think that makes two of us,” she responded, her earlier guilt forgotten, voice now full of promise.

# # #

In spite of their earlier statements, dinner took precedence after the threesome said goodnight to Locke and Terra and made their way to the house on the cliffside. Setzer had talked the bartender into two bottles of wine to go with the basket of food, and they were more than halfway into the first bottle when Edgar set his glass down and looked Celes squarely in the eyes. “It's not like you to be careless,” he said. “Is everything all right?”

“What do you mean?” Celes blinked. “I'm fine. More than fine, in fact.” The house was despite the ocean breeze that blew through the window, and the wine and company added to that heat. She was sure that she had a good amount of color in her cheeks, and Celes crossed her legs and smiled over the top of her wine glass at both men. “It is a little warm in here, though.”

Edgar wasn't swayed from his questioning. “You wouldn't just forget to reserve our rooms at the inn. You and I talked about it, even, and you told me it was taken care of,” Edgar leaned forward resolutely. “Did you plan this?”

Setzer grinned and rubbed Celes’s back. “Why question an auspicious turn of events, Edgar? From the looks of it, Locke and Terra wanted to be alone as much as we did. I for one am going to take advantage of the wine and company, although I agree with the lady, it is warm in here. Jidoor is nowhere near this tropical and Figaro is much more dry.”

Celes nodded. “Terra actually asked if Setzer and I could distract you so that she and Locke could have some time to themselves,” she explained, and Setzer laughed, the scars on his face fading into his smile.

“You didn't tell her how you planned on doing that, did you?” he asked, taking a deep breath and a long drink of wine.

“Playing cards,” Celes grinned.

Edgar picked up the bottle of wine and pushed the cork into the top. “I think you’ve got a full house tonight,” he said, taking Celes’s hand as he stood from the table. Celes stood with him, and Edgar’s hand on her back sent a jolt of electricity through her body. _Nothing to interrupt us now._ Edgar leaned in and kissed her, much like he did that morning on the ship but this kiss was much more powerful, his tongue nudging her mouth open against his. She threw her arms around his neck and held herself against Edgar while she kissed him back, only pausing to breathe when she started to feel lightheaded.

Setzer's body suddenly pressed against Celes’s from behind. She hadn't heard him get up, her focus completely on Edgar’s searing kisses. His hands circled her waist, and his fingers toyed with the fasteners on the front of her pants. She felt him lean into her, and his erection pressed against her insistently.

Keep it cool, Celes, she reminded herself, squeezing her thighs together. She was a little bit embarrassed that she was already so ready for them, but this was an encounter that she had been anticipating for a long time.

Setzer felt her muscles tighten against his body and pushed her hair away from the shell of her ear, his fingertips tracing the outside. “I don't know why you're restraining yourself, love...don't hold your pleasure back. Unless it's modesty, in which case I'm sure Edgar’s as hard as I am right now, he's just being a gentleman for once and not alerting you to that fact.”

Celes swallowed, willing words to come back to her. “Let's take this to the bedroom,” she breathed, the heat of their bodies combined with the temperature of the house and her own hot blood overwhelming her. She dropped her hands from Edgar’s neck and led the way up the stairs.

“Hey,” Edgar suddenly said to Setzer, keeping him two steps behind, “is anything off limits with Celes?”

“I’m not the one to ask that question to,” Setzer replied. “Ask her if you want to know if something’s okay. No means no, and if it doesn't feel good, stop. Those are about the only rules we have.”

“I mean…” Edgar wished that he'd thought to have this conversation with Setzer more than ten minutes before they were both naked. “Is there anything you don't want me to do with her? As her boyfriend, you know?” The term seemed so awkward and juvenile in this context, but he couldn't come up with anything better on the fly.

Setzer paused. “This is kind of last-minute, wouldn't you say? We had all day to just stand around and talk,” he replied irritably. It wasn't that the topic was unimportant, but like every other factor in the lead-up to this rendezvous, the timing was abject shit.

“Yeah, well, Locke and Terra were there...I don't know, I don't have much experience with threesomes, remember?” Edgar shrugged.

“Nor do I-” Setzer started, but was interrupted by Celes’s voice.

“What are you guys doing down there?” Celes called down the stairs. “You're not starting without me, are you?”

Edgar grabbed a pitcher from the sideboard. “Water. For later,” he responded quickly. He ran the tap and started filling the jug.

Setzer shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. He stood next to Edgar at the sink, not particularly in the mood for diplomacy or unforeseen complications, but he understood the other man’s position, having once been on the outside of Celes’s relationship himself. “I don't dictate what she does, and likewise in return. I'm not gonna be upset unless you either try to push me out or you try to force her into anything that she doesn't want. The former, I'd feel betrayed because I trust you implicitly; the latter, I can't guarantee what I'd do, but it’d probably land me in prison.”

Edgar nodded. “Understood. I've got no intention of doing either of those things.”

“Excellent. Can we stop talking and go upstairs? Because I'm really tired of being patient. If you all remember, I really don't excel at waiting for the things - or people - I want.” Setzer grabbed Edgar’s bicep, pulling him close and running his finger down Edgar’s jawline with his free hand. “Are we good now?”

They made a beeline for the stairs after that, Edgar stopping dead in his tracks and sloshing a bit of the water onto his shirt as they entered the bedroom.

“What took you so long?” Celes purred. She had taken the delay as an opportunity to get ready, and she lay naked on her side across the spacious bed.

Setzer glanced at Edgar, who was wordlessly fixated upon Celes’s nude body, and slapped him on the shoulder. “I feel extraordinarily overdressed right now.”

Edgar had been imagining what Celes looked like naked since the second day he'd known her, and again reality surpassed his fantasy. She wasn't as thin as he had assumed, probably the result of the less stressful life of a courier instead of a soldier. Instead of hard lines and sword callouses Celes was gentle curves and soft skin, and Edgar couldn't wait to touch every inch of her body. He and Setzer started towards the bed, but Celes licked her lips and motioned for them to stop. “Hold on,” she said, “I want to see you both first. Last time you got a good show, now it's my turn.”

Edgar set the water down on the top of the dresser and turned to Setzer. “Is she always this demanding?” He grinned at Celes on the bed, and Celes smiled back serenely.

“I see no harm in giving the lady what she desires,” Setzer replied, “and I've wondered what you looked like naked above the waist for a few weeks now.” His hands went to the buttons on Edgar’s shirt and nimbly popped up each one open, revealing Edgar’s broad, tanned chest. Setzer traced the outline of one of Edgar’s defined pectorals, and followed it up to his collar, using both hands to push the fabric down the other man’s arms and off his body. Celes watched Setzer explore the expanse of Edgar’s upper body with both hands, pale hands standing out like beacons on the other man’s body. He counted over the ridges of Edgar’s abdomen, and both Celes and Edgar sucked in a breath when Setzer dragged his fingernail down the defined line at Edgar’s groin, dipping just beneath the waist of his pants. Setzer glanced at Celes, who was pressing her knuckles to her lips, watching the display with great interest.

“It's too bad I'm allergic to calisthenics,” Setzer chuckled, “outside of the bedroom, anyway.”

Edgar followed suit with Setzer, who thankfully had left his heavy coat downstairs with Edgar’s cape, and made short work of Setzer’s loose shirt, dropping it on the floor next to his own. He traced Setzer’s nipple piercing with a fingertip, and watched with curiosity as the flesh hardened with his touch. “You like this? It doesn't hurt at all?”

“I do, and they aren't painful, I've had them for years,” Setzer explained, “I got them for their looks, and they turned out to have pleasant fringe benefits.” He groaned slightly when Edgar experimentally tweaked Setzer’s nipple, and the bed creaked as Celes shifted, her hand cupping her breast as she watched Setzer and Edgar explore each other.

Celes remembered standing at a dessert table at a military banquet when she was a teenager with all her favorites spread out before her. This was similar, but so much better. She dropped her knee down towards the bed, welcoming the pressure against her sex, and Setzer raised his eyebrow.

“Something wrong, Celes?”

“Finish getting undressed,” Celes instructed,“I want you both in bed with me.”

“Yes ma’am,” Edgar drawled, and unbuttoned his pants, his eyes on her as he pushed them down his legs and stepped out, adding to the pile on the floor. Setzer was one step ahead of him, already pulling his underwear off, and Edgar followed suit. They sat down next to Celes on the bed, Edgar at the foot and Setzer about halfway up.

She looked from one man to the other, both naked and hard in front of her. In her fantasies, she knew exactly what to say and do; now that everyone was here in person, ready and willing, she found herself tongue tied, not sure where to begin. Celes glanced at Edgar, who seemed to be waiting for either Setzer or herself to make the first move.

“I swear,” Setzer shook his head good-naturedly, “you structured military types. It's like you need someone to give you orders.” He bent over to kiss Celes’s lips, his hand following the curve of her shoulder down to her breast, where he teased and circled her nipple before taking it between his thumb and forefinger, pulling gently until she yelped against his lips, squirming against the bed.

“You want more of that?” Setzer asked.

She nodded. “You know what I like,” Celes replied, and Setzer smiled against her lips.

“I do, but he doesn't yet,” Setzer motioned to Edgar, and Edgar pushed himself up the bed to sit next to Setzer. His hand went to Setzer’s back, fingertips following the black lines over his shoulder blade and down his spine.

“Does it represent something?” Edgar had never seen Setzer with his shirt off before. The image stretched from just below the nape of his neck to the small of his back. It must have taken hours.

Setzer sucked in a breath between his teeth. “It's the engine schematic of the Blackjack. Stylized, of course.” Edgar’s feather-light touch along the lines of Setzer’s tattoo was going straight to his dick, and he felt his entire body twitch. He sighed contentedly, cupping Celes’s breast and leaning in to kiss her again while Edgar traced over each of Setzer’s vertebrae. Now that he knew what to look for, could see the representations of cylinders, air inlets, the supercharger, and Edgar reminded himself to ask Setzer more about the tattoo at a later date. There was plenty of time to talk when Celes wasn't naked in front of him, willing him with her eyes and body to please her.

Edgar crawled over Celes to lie on her right side while Setzer took her left. Setzer continued his ministrations from before, while Edgar dipped his head down to take Celes’s other nipple into his mouth.

“Oh my god,” Celes squeaked, fisting the bedsheet in her hand. The twin conflicting sensations were overwhelming. Setzer brushed her hair back from her eyes with his left hand and continued to roll, pull and pinch with his right. Edgar laved her nipple with his tongue, the heat of his mouth giving way to his cool breath as he blew gently across the peak. She tried to squirm, but Edgar’s shoulders across her belly kept her in place.

“So sensitive,” Edgar commented, his right hand stroking up and down her flank from ribs to hip. “Are you this sensitive everywhere?”

“Stay away from touching behind her knees,” Setzer chuckled. “She's so ticklish, she almost broke my nose a couple of years ago when I kissed her back there.”

Celes normally would be embarrassed, but she didn't even care what he was saying at this particular moment. She was so aroused, her clit felt like a fiery ember, begging to be stoked and kindled to a flame.

“What do you want, Celes?” Setzer asked. He'd played this game with her many times before, and now that the participants had changed it was like going back to square one. “Tonight is about you, darling. This was your idea, after all.”

“He’s right,” Edgar agreed, “lady’s choice. If it wasn't for your clever plan, the circumstances wouldn't be anywhere near as pleasant.”

“Edgar’s very good with his tongue... at least in my experience,” Setzer suggested. Edgar merely grinned and licked his lips.

“Mine too, so far,” Celes breathed, and let her hip drop to the bed, leaving her flat on her back. Edgar swallowed and looked up at Celes, placing his hands on her kneecaps (gingerly, after Setzer’s warning) and met her blue eyes with his own.

“Is this okay?” Edgar spread her legs apart slightly, waiting for her response to continue.

Celes nodded, closing her eyes and dropping her head back onto the pillow. “Please,” she implored, breathing deeply.

Setzer rested his hand on her cheek and brushed his thumb over her closed eyelids. “Open your eyes, love. I never get to see your face when I’m in his position.” She peeked up at Setzer, his silver hair falling in a curtain, stray strands tickling Celes’s nose. He leaned in to kiss her and she poured her heart into kissing Setzer back, her hands cupped on either side of his face, while trying to pay attention to Edgar at the same time.

Edgar positioned himself between Celes’s loosely parted legs and kissed the soft, smooth skin of her inner thighs. She was so fair, he could see the blue lines of her veins through her skin in the soft light of the room. He slid his finger experimentally along her slit, feeling how wet she was, and he heard her sigh against Setzer’s mouth. Edgar moved his index finger back and forth, separating her flesh and slicking his finger with her fluids. His exploration was almost maddeningly slow and methodical; not what she would expect from Edgar at all. Edgar smiled, pleased with Celes’s reaction so far, and went on to spread her pussy open with one hand, thumbing her clit with the other. His broad, calloused fingers felt so large compared to Setzer’s long, narrow digits.

Celes arched her back and curled her toes against the sheets, the sound of her pleasure a high-pitched whine into Setzer’s neck as Edgar replaced his thumb with his lips and tongue. He swirled and flicked at her swollen flesh with his tongue, holding her thighs open with his hands. He glanced upwards, feeling her sliding backwards on the bed, and paused his ministrations momentarily. Setzer was moving into place behind Celes, supporting himself against the wall. He adjusted his position as Celes reclined into his chest and dropped her head onto Setzer’s shoulder.

“Feel good?” Edgar asked Celes.

“You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now,” Setzer answered in place of Celes, his eyes dark. “I want to taste you both at the same time.”

Edgar quickly pushed himself up onto his knees, bending over Celes and kissing Setzer’s lips. Celes watched Setzer suck Edgar’s lower lip into his mouth, and decided it was simultaneously strange and wonderful to watch one man lick her essence off the other. Edgar was tall enough that when he stretched over her body while kneeling between her legs, his cock nudged against her mound and she considered begging him to finish the motion and bury himself inside her.

“I was asking Celes if she was enjoying herself,” Edgar smiled down at her, “Because I certainly am.”

Celes nodded, and Edgar kissed her lips while Setzer kissed her neck. She felt Setzer’s cock grind into her back and Edgar’s press against her belly, and she shivered. “It's incredible,” Celes murmured, “you both feel so good.”

Setzer reached his hand around to circle Celes’s nipple again, and Edgar dropped back between her legs. “Tell him what you want, my dear,” Setzer urged, and Celes swallowed hard.

“Use your tongue and your fingers...I need you inside me,” she whispered, wishing for more than his fingers, but for some reason, Celes couldn't make herself beg for his cock.

Edgar obliged, tilting her hips towards him and taking her clit back into his mouth. This time, his fingers followed his tongue, and he sank his second and third fingers inside her body, the feeling of Celes’s wet heat sending a surge of desire straight to his dick. Celes hissed at the intrusion, and rocked her hips towards Edgar as Setzer played with her nipples, alternating between soft and firm strokes, and whispered into her ear. “You like his fingers but you want more, don't you, love?”

“Yes,” she gasped, as Edgar’s tongue stroked her clit, pulling the hood back and forth, teasing the sensitive nub of flesh. His fingertips pressed inside of her, searching for the right spot, and when he glanced across it Celes moaned and her body jerked. Edgar laved her pussy with his tongue as he worked two fingers against that spot and was rewarded with breathy, high-pitched exclamations of “more” and “please”. The sound of the waves lapping against the cliffside disappeared behind the blood rushing between Celes’s ears as the two men brought her closer and closer to orgasm. She writhed against Setzer and announced to the group, “Edgar, Setzer...almost…” She squeezed her eyes shut, gasping as Setzer took her nipple between his fingers, worrying and twisting it until the skin was red, then gently soothing her abused flesh. Celes grasped Setzer’s bicep with her left hand and the sheets with her right, tears in her eyes from the overwhelming sensation.

Edgar lifted his head from between her legs and replaced his tongue on her clit with his thumb, using both hands in tandem to finish Celes off so he could see the look on her face when she came. Setzer murmured from his vantage point between her breasts, “He’s watching you, darling...so am I...like you wanted...show us how good this feels…”

“You're amazing, Celes,” Edgar said simply, and the men's voices combined with their touch took Celes over the edge. Her voice broke and the world went dark, bright spots forming behind her tightly closed eyes as she thrust her hips into Edgar’s hands and arched her back into Setzer, her orgasm exploding through her from her scalp to her toes. Edgar’s fingers made obscene noises as they continued to move in and out of her body. Celes finally came down, panting and sweating against Setzer’s chest.

“Do you ever taste yourself?” Edgar asked, and Celes simply nodded, words escaping her as she returned from the upper atmosphere. He straddled Celes and bent down to kiss her, offering his hand to Setzer, who sucked Edgar’s fingers into his mouth, suggestively rolling his tongue between Edgar’s digits.

Edgar broke the kiss and sat back against Celes’s thighs. Setzer gently pushed Celes forward, and Edgar caught her upper body in his arms so that Setzer could get out from behind her. “Legs were falling asleep,” Setzer explained, “Totally worth it, though.” He stood next to Edgar and Celes at the edge of the bed. “How are you doing, love?”

“Oh my god,” Celes breathed, “no words.” She shook her head in disbelief, a huge grin spread across her face.

“You came pretty hard,” Setzer said, stroking her hair and kissing her wild blonde mane. “Just once?”

“Once was enough,” she replied, leaning into Edgar’s chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat, nearly as quick as her own.

“We’ll have to do better next time,” Edgar said, “I'm up for the challenge.” He tilted Celes’s chin upwards and smiled warmly at her, his blue eyes dark with desire.

Celes glanced between the unashamedly naked men flanking her and couldn't focus on anything other than their obvious arousal. She suddenly felt guilty through the haze of pleasure; they had given so much to her, and so far taken none for themselves.

“I'm being selfish now,” she said. Celes looked up at Setzer and reached for his cock, taking it in her hand and giving it a couple of preliminary strokes. “I want you guys to feel as good as I just did. How do you want to do it?”

Setzer feigned deep thought, his chin in his hand. “Tough decision with this many permutations, but I'd really like to fuck you, my dear. Edgar’s already done all the prep work, you sounded divine there at the end.” He patted Edgar on the back. “You're a good man, my friend.”

Edgar shook his head. “Happy to oblige, my friend. Few things I love more in life than making a woman come so hard she’s speechless afterwards - especially a woman who's always got something to say.”

“You two are so embarrassing,” Celes groaned. She rested one hand on Edgar’s chest and curled the other around Setzer’s back. Both men were covered with a sheen of sweat, the result of physical exertion and the warmth of the room. “Let’s do this,” she said.

Celes nodded slowly. “Okay,” she agreed, “Edgar…? Would another blowjob be all right?” She glanced at him, and he kissed her gently.

“That's like asking a drowning man if he'd mind another life raft,” Edgar replied. “It's more than okay.” He would be lying if he said that he had no interest in fucking her; the entire time he was going down on Celes, he was thinking of replacing his fingers with his dick. For some reason he felt like that was taking too many liberties, and there was also the matter of remembering to pull out when he was this aroused and still slightly drunk.

Celes looked to Setzer and Edgar and smiled sheepishly. “I have no idea what the best position for this kind of thing is.” She hadn't covered these logistics in her daydreams and fantasies.

Edgar thought for a moment, glancing at Setzer. “All fours?”

“We can try that,” Celes nodded, kneeling at the foot of the bed and bending over to rest her elbows and forearms on the mattress. Setzer knelt behind her and let his thick erection press against her hot mound, reaching around to tease her clit, taunting Celes with the promise of what they both wanted.

Edgar sat down in front of Celes and kissed the top of her head, brushing her hair back from her eyes. “You're so beautiful,” he said, pressing the pad of his thumb against her lips, “I have to admit I was worried this would never actually happen.”

“Me too,” Celes sighed, reaching for his prick with her left hand, staring up at Edgar while she stroked his dick slowly. Setzer’s fingers were like dark magic, willing her to forget anything but their motion against her sensitized flesh. “I'm so happy it did.”

“Me three,” Setzer noted, taking his cock in hand and pushing the tip between her wet folds, “To think, we’re all here thanks to a rigged coin toss.” He moved his hips back and forth giving her only the head of his prick, nearly pulling out each time, and Celes turned her attention to Edgar to distract herself from Setzer’s ministrations. She opened her mouth and he guided his dick between her lips. Celes adeptly swallowed his length, relaxing her throat as Edgar rocked his hips quickly upwards, and at the same time Setzer suddenly snapped his hips forward, plunging roughly inside her body. Celes made a strangled noise, overwhelmed by the motion from both sides, and pulled her head back from Edgar’s groin, gasping for breath.

“Are you okay?” Edgar cupped her face in his hands, and Setzer immediately stopped moving inside her. She coughed, wiping a string of saliva from the corner of her mouth. “Do we need to stop?” Setzer withdrew from inside her, his brow crumpled as he glanced at Edgar, unable to see Celes’s expression.

Celes shook her head. “No, I'm okay…I don't want to stop. You both moved fast at the same time... I wasn't expecting that.”

“I don't want any unpleasant surprises,” Setzer said, and Edgar nodded emphatically in accord. “While I love the way you feel from behind, let's try this instead, it might be easier for you.” He turned Celes over and eased her onto her back, and she propped her head and shoulders up with pillows, similar to the position she was in a few minutes prior. Setzer stood at the foot of the bed, and Edgar waited until Setzer was in position before moving to stand at the side of the bed, letting Celes get comfortable before offering his cock to her again.

“This better?” Edgar asked.

“Mmhmm,” she hummed, meeting his half-lidded gaze. Setzer draped Celes’s ankles over his shoulders and buried himself inside her to the hilt, and she groaned blissfully as Setzer started to move rhythmically back and forth, long strokes in and out, hips slapping against her ass.

It was surprisingly erotic to watch them make love, Edgar decided, and while Celes adjusted her movements to the motion of Setzer’s body, he took a moment to appreciate the lean stretch of Setzer’s arms and torso and the soft quiver of Celes’s thighs and breasts. Setzer ground against her and Celes rocked her hips to meet every thrust. They had the synchronization one would expect of old lovers, and he wondered if he'd ever have the pleasure of knowing their bodies even half as well. Edgar glanced down and saw Celes watching him, a satisfied grin on her face. She knew he had been enjoying the show. Her hand circled his dick and she eased his erection back into her mouth, her tongue swirling over the head as she pumped her hand along the shaft.

Setzer picked up pace, leaning in to grasp Celes’s thighs for balance. Her feet crossed around the back of his neck and he glanced up at Edgar, who had so intently watched them a moment ago. He had his eyes closed and his hand wound in Celes’s hair, taking pleasure from her as readily as he had given it.

Celes could barely keep up with the competing sensations, trying to give the best possible blowjob to Edgar as she could while keeping pace with Setzer. Sex with two people at the same time was proving more difficult than she had assumed; it was akin to fighting two opponents at once, tracking the movements of one while engaging the other. Nothing had prepared her for how good it felt, though. Edgar took advantage of his reach and rolled Celes’s reddened nipple between his fingers, and she whined from deep down in her throat and sucked in a deep breath around his dick.

“Son of a-” Edgar groaned, the unexpected pressure nearly finishing him off. “Babe, I’m gonna come…” Celes answered his unspoken question without words, twisting sideways and grasping his ass in both her hands to hold him in position. Edgar let out a guttural sigh, spilling his orgasm into her mouth, and Setzer thrust roughly a few more times before uttering a long guttural groan as he spent himself inside her.

All three lovers spent a few wordless moments catching their breath. Celes didn't even want to know what she looked like; she could only imagine based on how sticky and disheveled she felt. Her jaw was sore, her entire lower body ached, she desperately needed a drink of water, and she didn't think she could be happier or more satisfied.

Edgar crouched down to kiss Celes, sweeping his tongue into her mouth. “Sometimes I taste myself too,” he grinned. “You are probably the sexiest woman I've ever known, just so you're aware.”

“You're not so bad yourself,” she responded, and turned her attention to Setzer as he carefully pulled out, carding his hand through his tangled hair.

“Well,” Setzer said, “I, for one, am very pleased with our first threesome.” He smiled softly at Celes, offering her his hand. “What’s your verdict, my dear?”

“I really hope this won't be the first and last time we do this,” she said, “because it exceeded every one of my expectations.”

“Definitely better than the first time I had sex with only one person, although no less memorable,” Edgar grinned.

“That sounds like a story I want to hear,” Celes took Setzer’s hand and pushed herself off of the mattress. “Maybe tomorrow, though. I'm exhausted, but I've got to wash up before bed.” She padded across the wood floor to the small washroom, and closed the door before glancing at herself in the mirror. The face staring back at her was completely fucked out and absolutely satiated, which was exactly how Celes felt.

Edgar and Setzer shared the pitcher of water while Celes was away, and Setzer stretched up to lick an errant drop of water from the corner of Edgar’s mouth. Edgar turned that gesture into a kiss, wordlessly conveying his gratitude for the invitation to be a part of their world.

“You want a cigarette?” Setzer fished the tin that he'd rolled on the way to Figaro from his pack. “Didn't offer in Jidoor, since you had to keep up appearances.”

“As long as I don't have to put my pants back on this time,” Edgar replied. Setzer tossed him one of the spare blankets, and Edgar wrapped it around his waist and followed Setzer out to the balcony. Setzer lit Edgar’s cigarette and then his own, and the men smoked in silence until Celes appeared behind them, staring out at the moonlit water.

“The last time I stood at a cliff’s edge, I thought I was alone in the world,” she said softly, crossing her arms over her breasts to secure the bedsheet wrapped around her body against the ocean breeze.

“I don't think you’ll need to worry about that again,” Edgar replied, kissing the top of her head.

“Not as long as I'm alive,” Setzer enveloped her in his arms, his lips finding hers in the dark. They stayed that way for a moment until Celes took Edgar’s left and Setzer’s right hands in her own, leading her lovers back to bed for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I love porn bloopers. Uncharted territory is never without its proverbial bumps in the road.


	8. the honey inside your hive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two plus two eventually equals three.
> 
> Edgar/Celes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was alive and I waited, waited  
> I was alive and I waited for this  
> Right here, right now  
> "Right Here Right Now" - Jesus Jones

Celes woke in the middle of the night, wishing that she still had Shiva’s powers to keep her cool. Setzer was warm on his own, but being sandwiched between him and Edgar in bed guaranteed that she would eventually overheat. They were all so tired after a day of travel and the night’s activities that less than ten minutes after Setzer and Celes had convinced Edgar to stay the night in the master bedroom, the trio had found a comfortable position and all three were asleep.

  
She used her agility to wriggle out from the tangle of arms and legs without waking either of her lovers and tiptoed to the restroom. Before returning to bed, Celes splashed cold water on her face and body, hoping she could prevent herself from overheating again. She wanted to savor every moment she could spend ensconced in Edgar and Setzer’s arms, their skin pressing against hers, enveloped in the blend of their distinct scents.

  
She opened the door and the moonlight presented her with an image that she wished she could preserve forever: in her absence, Setzer had rolled over and curled his backside into the hollow of Edgar’s hip, spooning against his body. Edgar’s hair spilled over Setzer’s shoulder, his chin resting on the crown of Setzer’s head. Celes wasn't sure whether to giggle or coo at the sweetness of the scene, but she knew it wasn't something she would ever forget. As much as she loved being between them she couldn't interrupt such perfect spooning, so she slipped delicately into bed next to Setzer, kissing his forehead before closing her eyes again.

  
Edgar woke before Celes and Setzer did, much less accustomed to sharing sleeping accommodations than they were. It seemed far too early for the sun to be rising over the ocean, but he couldn't force himself to go back to sleep. At some point during the night Celes and Setzer had switched positions, so he found that his morning erection was pressing against Setzer’s ass instead of Celes’s. There was something vaguely disconcerting about that, even though everyone’s sexuality was apparently much more fluid than he'd ever realized, so he moved Setzer out of the way and crawled out of bed. The other man woke for a moment, blinked sleepily at Edgar, then nuzzled his face into Celes’s neck and closed his eyes.

  
He found his pack in the pile of hastily discarded personal effects and dug out a pair of loose pants that he wore to work out. Edgar quietly descended the staircase, wincing at the creaking floorboards, and slid the back door open.

  
As he started a circuit of push-ups, lunges, planks, and squats, he noticed that he was vaguely sore in muscle groups that had been underused since the world had returned from ruin. Celes had displayed remarkable athleticism last night; he had learned long ago to not underestimate a determined Celes Chere. Edgar had certainly fantasized about having two women at the same time; many times during their time as warriors he imagined what would happen if Celes and Terra were to come to his quarters together in need of comfort or stress relief. Having now been part of a threesome, he now wondered if he could hold his own in the middle as well as Celes did between Setzer and himself.

  
Edgar allowed himself to ponder a future arrangement or three as he completed his first calisthenics circuit, and shook his head. He had already convinced himself during the trip to Thamasa that he wasn't going to allow himself to think of this arrangement as more than a standalone weekend. It was also clear to him that Celes and Setzer were thinking of children the same way that he was; they weren't married, but neither were Terra’s friends Duane and Katarin when they started their family. Edgar was always careful to pull out with plenty of time to spare when he had sex as Gerad, although he usually steered his partners towards acts without risk of progeny. Setzer had done no such thing last night, spending himself inside of his lover without concern. As interested as Edgar was in producing an heir to the Figaro throne, he didn't want it to be an accident. Moreover, while Setzer was certainly a libertine, he didn't think the other man would take kindly to Edgar carelessly impregnating Celes.

  
Their children would no doubt be beautiful, though.

  
He resolutely put those thoughts out of his mind. There were enough wild fantasies that he could indulge with Celes that didn't involve her bearing his child. Edgar focused on the sound of the waves beating against the rocks below, a sound he never heard in the middle of the desert, and retrained his thoughts on his workout. He was halfway through his fifth set of squats before he noticed Celes sitting serenely on the rocks behind him, her body wrapped in a dark blue blue silk robe.

  
“What are you doing up so early?” Edgar stopped his workout and stretched his arms over his head, blood rushing through his tired muscles.

  
Celes threw him the towel that he'd left on the rocks. “Enjoying the view,” she replied, a sly grin spreading across her face. “There are people who would pay money to witness that display.”

  
He wiped the sweat from his face, neck, and chest. “I could say the same for you and Setzer,” he said conspiratorially, and Celes laughed quietly.

  
“He loves a good show and an appreciative audience,” she said. “I think I'd feel strange with a random person watching us, but I liked seeing your face while he was inside me.” Her smile quirked. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  
“I should be asking you that question. You were amazing last night. I didn't think you would be able to handle us both at once.”

  
“What is it they used to say about me? ‘Forged by the empire and tempered in battle’...I've taken on three and four men at a time in battle, I was up for the challenge. It was my idea, after all.” Celes crossed her legs and the fabric of the robe fell open below her knees. “Regardless, thank you,” she continued, “I had a lot of fun. I know we're supposed to meet up with everyone in a couple of hours, but I’ll admit I would rather spend the next day and a half here with just the two of you, as selfish as that sounds.” Her nipples were taut beneath her robe, half from the morning ocean air and half from watching Edgar’s muscles ripple beneath his golden skin while he worked out. Celes needed to fuck him, and she needed to do it this morning. If she had to spend all day in public pretending that they weren't even attracted to each other, much less sleeping together, she was going to get it out of her system before they left the house.

  
“I know...if I don't show up to veto it, Terra’s going to make me wear a dress, just like Locke said. However, I’m beginning to wonder if wearing a dress for a day is a fair trade for a day to ourselves.” He was fairly certain that she was naked beneath her robe, and his earlier thoughts combined with this new information were manifesting themselves physically. Edgar turned his back to Celes to press the heel of his hand firmly against his erection. “Is Setzer still asleep?”

  
“He was when I got up. A full day of traveling always wears him out. The autopilot is handy, but he won't rely on it when there's other people besides me aboard,” she explained. “I've always been the one who had a schedule; guess it’s my military versus his civilian upbringing.”

  
Edgar approached Celes and sat down on the rock next to her, watching the waves beat against the cliffside while the fog rolled slowly away. He smoothed her blonde hair away from her cheek and gently kissed her face, then her forehead, and lips. Celes tilted her face up to meet him, her fingertips outlining his ear while his mouth moved against hers. “We don't have much time,” Celes whispered, “remember, duty calls.”

  
“Guess we’ll have to make good use of the time we have, then,” Edgar said, letting his hand trail down her shoulder and collarbone, cupping the mound of her breast in his palm. He could feel her rapid heartbeat and see the need in her eyes. “I don't want to get my sweat all over your silk robe.”

  
“Maybe I should take it off,” she teased, “there's nothing but seagulls and fish between here and the triangle island.” The flat rock they sat on was too short to do anything horizontal, but Celes knew that where there was a will there was a way. Humidity saturated the tropical air, and a small bead of sweat gathered at her temple. Edgar raised his eyebrow and Celes loosened the tie on her robe, slipping the material from her shoulders. She leaned in to kiss Edgar, her teeth bumping against his and fingers in his hair. He tasted of salt from the ocean and sweat from his workout, and she sighed delightedly against his lips as his fingers found her nipples, still sore from last night. Celes shifted against the stone surface, the memory of Edgar’s tongue and fingers between her legs fresh in her mind.

  
Edgar’s previously suppressed erection was now fully hard and clearly visible through his workout pants. “Are there new rules when it's just you and me? Last time we were alone together, I wasn't supposed to touch you if Setzer wasn't around.”

  
She was surprised that he still thought of the rules; in her mind, those were applicable until they had a chance to be together as a group. “Do you want me to go get him?” Celes kept one hand on the back of Edgar’s neck and let the other settle on his inner thigh, close enough to move the fabric of his pants against his cock without touching it.

  
“If he’s required to be here, because I really don't want to stop.” Edgar held Celes’s hand in place with one hand and slid the other behind her back, taking advantage of his size to lean her backwards and catching her nipple between his teeth. He thought of how Setzer had pulled roughly at her breasts last night and did the same, eliciting a needy cry from Celes. “This is your game, your rules. I want to have you both as many times and as long you'll let me, so you tell me what you want and how not to fuck this up.”

  
Celes’s pulse thundered in her ears. “He told me a few days ago that if I wanted to be with just you, I could. The same goes for you and him. Did he say something different to you?”

  
“He told me to ask you what’s off limits. And I cannot imagine he slept through that fantastic noise you just made, but just in case,” Edgar dropped his head down to her other breast, wetting the flesh with his tongue before dragging his teeth back and forth until Celes moaned and gasped. He kept his grip firm as she squirmed against him. “You are a hell of a wake-up call.”

  
“Let’s do it then,” she sighed, “right now.” She was so sore and oversexed last night that she couldn't believe she was ready again so soon.

  
“The feeling is mutual. What's your pleasure?”

  
“I want you inside me when I come.” Celes was breathing hard, the pressure of Edgar’s grip holding her in place only fueling the fire at the juncture of her thighs. She knew he would let her go if she asked, but Setzer was right when he noted that the perception of being overpowered was a huge turn-on for her.

  
Through the breaks in the waves, they heard a noise from the house and both abruptly turned around. Setzer stood in the doorway clad only in slim black briefs with a cup of coffee in one hand, a cigarette in the other, and a lascivious smile on his face.

  
“Don't let me stop you,” he said, “but darling, take off that robe before you tear it on the rocks, it's the closest thing you own to lingerie and I'm rather fond of it.”

  
Edgar shook his head and laughed, Setzer's presence simultaneously increasing and alleviating his concerns. “A man of luxury like you doesn't buy his girlfriend lingerie?”

  
“She won't wear it,” Setzer lamented, “says it’s a waste of money. I've been trying to change her mind for a year now, but she's a very stubborn woman sometimes.”

  
Celes sighed. “I'm sitting right here, you know.”

  
“Oh, I know,” Edgar replied. “You're not going anywhere.” His voice was low and his pupils were blown wide.

  
“Let me know if Celes is too much woman for you to handle alone. I know you don't have nearly the experience I do,” Setzer’s voice was teasing. “I'll just hang out here and enjoy the show.” He actually wanted to join them, but it was clear after last night that there was something unresolved between Celes and Edgar, and Setzer hoped this would put their tension to bed and allow their threesome to get back on track.

  
Celes turned back to Edgar. “Where were we?”

  
Edgar released his grip on Celes’s arm and hand long enough for her to stand up and remove the blue silk garment from her body, draping it carefully over a nearby smooth rock. She retrieved Edgar’s towel and laid it out on the rock where she sat. “Here,” she said, motioning in front of her, “sit on this. I'll get on top.”

  
Edgar hesitated. It was going to be remarkably difficult to pull out with her on top of him, but she seemed unconcerned and he wasn't in the mood to argue logistics. He pushed himself up to a standing position, untying the drawstring and dropping his pants to the ground before sitting at the edge of the rock with his thighs slightly spread.

  
Celes knelt on either side of Edgar’s lap, using his broad shoulders to steady herself. He reached up between her legs and rubbed his thumb over her clit, listening to her hiss in his ear as he teased her swollen flesh. She was already so wet from anticipation that foreplay wasn't necessary, but when Edgar’s index and middle fingers slipped inside of Celes, she welcomed the intrusion. She braced herself against Edgar’s upper body and he used his core muscles to hold them both upright, his arm around her shoulders supporting her weight while he took her closer and closer to the edge. “Don’t hold back,” Edgar muttered in her ear, “I know how much you want this. I can see it every time you look at me.”

  
Her breaths grew shorter and her grip around his neck tightened, and Celes whined his name, her head falling backwards and knees giving out underneath her as her orgasm wracked her body. She collapsed briefly against his chest to catch her breath, and he brushed her hair back from her eyes and kissed her damp, salty forehead. “Let me know when you're ready.”

  
Celes took two or three deep breaths and pulled herself back up to a kneeling position. “I've never been more ready.” She took Edgar’s erection in her hand and guided it into position between her legs. His dick was thicker than Setzer’s, and Celes exhaled and looked Edgar in the eyes as she slowly sank down. She bit her lip as she stretched to accommodate his cock. The pressure was intense, and she was thankful for the extra foreplay.

  
Edgar groaned, closing his eyes for a moment and losing himself in the feeling of Celes’s body. He pushed his hips forward once or twice, testing his range of motion in this position. “You good?”

  
“I'm better than good,” she breathed, holding onto his shoulders again and using her thighs to raise and lower herself a few times along his length. He slid his hand between their bodies, seeking out her aching clit while she rode him. Celes slowed her pace as Edgar increased the movement of his fingertips against her sensitive flesh, feeling the pressure and heat rise around his prick on the precipice of her orgasm.

  
“You feel like heaven, baby...I'm almost there too,” he said, and waited for her to stop and let him pull out. Celes did the opposite, sinking down on top of Edgar until he was completely buried inside her. He alternated between slow and quick circles, certain he could coax another orgasm out of Celes. Her voice broke as she came a second time, her hips grinding down against his thighs and her muscles rippling exquisitely along his cock.

  
“Celes,” Edgar offered his final notice, “I'm gonna come inside you.”

  
“Do it,” she panted, waiting for a burst of speed and intensity, but instead his movement slowed. Celes leaned back on her wrists, taking some of the strain off her thighs while she tried to figure out what was wrong. Something suddenly clicked and she blurted out, “Look, I can't get pregnant, don't worry. Please, Edgar,” she nearly begged, “come for me.”

  
His eyes widened with surprise and then narrowed once more. “With pleasure,” he replied, pulling her flush against him and thrusting harder and faster, uttering a muffled shout into her hair as he came. She stayed close to him, listening to his heart pound, waiting until he started to soften before lifting herself up and off of his lap. Celes sat next to him on the towel, and Setzer approached, clapping slowly and and grinning from ear to ear.

  
“That was quite a performance,” he said reverently. “I have to say, if someone asked me a year ago if I'd get off on watching another man with Celes, I'd probably have punched them.”

  
“Thanks, I think.” He rubbed his lower back with his free hand. “My ass is killing me,” Edgar laughed.

  
“Your ass? My entire lower body, and I'm a mess again,” she said, leaning against Edgar while Setzer crouched down to kiss her.

  
“You are beautiful, love,” Setzer murmured against her lips, “absolutely beautiful.” He turned to Edgar and kissed him appreciatively. “You're all right too, my friend.”

  
Edgar sighed. “Are you sure we have to go into town? I think I've made peace with the dress thing.”

  
“You know he was bullshitting you,” Setzer shook his head. “I bet him a thousand Gil that you'd fall for it.”

  
“Son of a bitch,” Edgar swore, punching Setzer in the arm. “You'd better use that thousand to buy something worthwhile. Get your girl some lace panties.”

  
Celes looked exasperated. “Have you ever worn lace panties? They itch and chafe and have no practical use.” She stood up and gathered her robe in her arms. “I'm going to bathe and make myself presentable. Relm and Terra still think I'm a nice young woman, and I plan to keep it that way.”

  
“I think you're a very nice young woman,” Setzer said. “Edgar, don't you agree?”

  
“I've never known a nicer woman in my life,” Edgar agreed earnestly, stepping back into his pants. “Leave some hot water for me?”

  
“Depends on how nice I feel,” Celes replied, closing the door behind her. Setzer handed Edgar a cigarette, and Edgar lit it off of the one that dangled from Setzer’s lips.

  
“Celes said she can't get pregnant,” Edgar said after a moment of silence. “Does she use some kind of contraceptive? I've heard about herbs and stuff,” he added.

  
“Nope. It's like she said. We've been having sex for almost two years now and every month, right on schedule. It's a good thing I'm not into kids.” Setzer exhaled through his teeth. 

  
Edgar thought for a moment. “Is that why she broke up with Locke?” He knew very well how anxious his friend was to become a father; Locke had already started choosing names for his and Terra’s future children.

  
“Big part of it.” He shrugged. “Ask her if you want more details, I pride myself in keeping personal details personal. One way or another, it worked out in my favor, and she's happy now. She and I know what it feels like to lose everything, to rebuild yourself from the ground up. Sometimes this whole relationship thing is more work than it is fun.” Setzer admitted as he tossed his cigarette over the cliff into the ocean. “But we’re stronger together than apart, Celes and I, so we put in the effort.”

  
“So how does a third person fit into that?” Edgar thought out loud.

  
“I don't know, but I guess we’ll find out.” Setzer put his arm around Edgar. “I'm sure you'll eventually have to do your royalty thing and get married, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. You and Celes are the anxiety twins sometimes, I swear. Quit worrying about right and wrong and the future and just enjoy the fact that you're an attractive person fucking two people at the same time and everyone's okay with it.”

  
“You have a point,” Edgar said, nodding his head slowly. He remembered a time when he was the one with advice for everyone, but the table seemed to have turned lately. “Do you have any more coffee?”

  
“I think there's enough for another pot,” Setzer stood up and started towards the house, “and I hope you two saved some energy for later.”

  
Edgar laughed. “You know as well as I do that anything’s possible with enough coffee. Engineer’s Law.” He followed Setzer inside to start the day, at least as far as everyone outside of the guest house was concerned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After writing 28k words of plot over in the college AU I felt compelled to write something filthy. Also I think I missed writing grownup characters that make thoughtful, responsible life decisions. 
> 
> I feel like this has been a giant pornfest lately, but I guess I had to get to the PWP I set out to write about 35,000 words ago ;)


End file.
